Cultures that look nice on the surface may enforce silence and quiet employee voice.

Normative niceness, the pressure to be agreeable and non-confrontational, suppresses authentic conversation.

Sustainability initiatives were ignored when employees felt unsafe to question leaders' decisions.

Written by Clare Burns, Ph.D., and Melissa Wheeler, Ph.D.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to work with good colleagues? For many, an ideal work environment is one where people are kind to each other, they make supportive comments, bring cupcakes to mark special occasions, and celebrate each other’s wins. But what if these nice acts are camouflaging something more sinister?

Recent research by Bond University’s Clare Burns (and one of the authors of this post) introduced a paradox lurking behind nice work cultures.

Modern workplaces that pride themselves on being nice can simultaneously sustain rigid hierarchies—speaking up feels risky and questioning authority is quietly but firmly discouraged. Entrenched hierarchies create cultures of high power distances, where there are big gaps between leaders and subordinates.

This paradox results in a culture that looks friendly on the surface but tacitly enforces silence and quiets employee voice.

Niceness as a Defensive Strategy

Many organizations proudly espouse egalitarian values, claiming all workers are valued and can speak up. Indeed, some have the words “courageous,” “brave,” and “collaborative” displayed in their meeting rooms. These words project virtue but often bear little resemblance to the........

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