Organizational cynicism is associated with undesirable outcomes such as reduced organizational performance. In this study we examined factors leading to organizational cynicism in a public organization undergoing market-oriented reforms. Participants were 275 employees at Korea Post, Korea. Our empirical results showed that organizational cynicism is decreased by coworker trust and transformational leadership and increased by job stress. Also, the positive role of job stress was stronger for employees who are silent than for those who express their opinions in the workplace. The findings suggest that organizations would benefit from actively managing factors that may affect the level of organizational cynicism among employees.

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PurposeEmployee voice behavior is an important source of corporate competitiveness but employees often face difficulties in voicing their opinions. This research analyzes how authentic leadership may increase psychological safety perceived by employees, consequently encouraging employees to actively share their ideas. In addition, the authors explore the unique concept of Zhongyong thinking, a way of thinking that is common in cultures rooted in Confucianism. The authors analyze how Zhongyong thinking may affect the relationship between psychological safety and employee voice behavior.Design/methodology/approachFor the empirical analysis of authentic leadership and employee voice behavior in the Chinese context, the authors distributed surveys to employees working in various different industries in various provinces in China. The authors distributed 250 surveys in total and 213 surveys were used for analyses.FindingsThe authors' empirical analyzes illustrate that authentic leadership increases employee voice behavior, partially mediated by psychological safety. The authors also analyzed how psychological safety's effect on employee voice behavior could be moderated by Zhongyong thinking. The results demonstrate that the effect of psychological safety on voice behavior is weaker when employees are capable of exercising Zhongyong thinking.Originality/valueZhongyong thinking is still a relatively new concept that has not been studied thoroughly, and to the authors' knowledge, Zhongyong thinking has never been studied as a moderator in the relationship between psychological safety and employee voice behavior.

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