Sharing Is Ethicizing: Examining the Impact of Sharing Observed Unethical Behavior With Family Members on Ethical Voice at Work

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chen, Anjier; Mai, Ke Michael; Min Ye, Yamon
• 署名单位: National University of Singapore; China Europe International Business School
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0001356
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: DECISION-MAKING; ABUSIVE SUPERVISION; moral character; EMPLOYEE VOICE; RUMINATION; self; CONSEQUENCES; responses; WORKPLACE; issues

摘要

It takes a village to build an ethical workplace, and employees who witness unethical behavior in the workplace play a crucial role in alerting organizations to wrongdoing and preventing its recurrence. While prior research has primarily focused on personal and intraorganizational factors shaping observer responses to workplace unethical behavior, the potential influence of extraorganizational factors has been largely overlooked. Recognizing that employees often share workplace experiences with close others, such as their family members, we explore how the extent of sharing with family members influences employee responses to observed unethical behavior. Integrating the functional perspective of rumination and social sharing research, we theorize that the extent of sharing with family members increases observer reflective rumination about the unethical behavior and their tendency to engage in ethical voice at work. We found empirical evidence in two critical incident surveys (Studies 1 and 4), an experiment (Study 2), and a cross-lagged panel survey (Study 3). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research.