In 2009, the authors of Crucial Conversations published a seminal study about communication in the workplace. More than 70% of employees were failing to confront dialogue with their peers, managers, and direct reports, they reported, citing fear of retribution and the perception of futility as the two main causes of their silence.”
At Bravely, we call this the Conversation Gap—and we were curious if it had narrowed over the past decade. So we partnered with an independent research firm to conduct our own survey, interviewing 500+ full-time employees across the country and diving deep into the ways in which demographic and firmographic identity impact conversation avoidance.
The result? Despite the increased emphasis on workplace culture and the billions of dollars that have poured into HR departments and initiatives, the number of employees avoiding tough conversation hasn’t budged.