Can career calling reduce employee silence? The mediating role of thriving and the moderating role of inclusive leadership

Employees with a career calling are more likely to follow their hearts and behave in an authentic manner resulting from genuine love and passion; they are therefore unlikely to remain silent. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the interesting question of whether career calling can reduce silent behavior. Based on self-determination theory, we propose that career calling reduces employee silence by increasing employee thriving at work. We also propose that inclusive leadership moderates the positive effects of career calling on thriving. Multilevel data concerning 367 employees indicate that career calling negatively influences employees’ silent behavior via the mediating effect of thriving and that inclusive leadership positively moderates this indirect relationship. By taking individual psychological and organizational contextual factors into account, our research expands our understanding of the potential impact of career calling in organizations, thereby contributing to the task of explaining the psychological mechanisms by which career calling reduces silent behavior and the boundary conditions under which such mechanisms operate. This research thus provides insight into ways of reducing negative organizational behaviors at a deeper level.