Group silence about workplace harm coexists with genuine private sympathy

Evidence

The fact that Jim was pale evoked concern, but the cause of his paleness was totally irrelevant, since there was nothing private people could do about Workers’ Comp or working conditions. He might just as well have been sick with flu. It was unusual that Jim even mentioned Workman’s Comp. Saying it did not pay enough was a simple statement of fact, like saying that it is snowing outside. But the silence did not indicate a lack of sympathy. Later, Jody told us again that Jim had been hit in the head at work, and again no one said anything, except that various people noted sympathetically, then and throughout the night, that Jim could not walk straight and was pale. ”Look at him. He doesn’t look too good.” — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 958

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the assumption that silence signals indifference — connects to Hochschild and broader literatures on what public silence vs private emotion means. — connects to: People voice fearful knowledge privately but suppress it in public interview settings. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 151; Volunteer groups suppress political talk even though members privately care — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 192; People feel emotions for group members and deny their group’s harmful acts — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2092 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• People feel emotions for group members and deny their group’s harmful acts #corroborates (0.92) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2092
• Moral doubts can be converted into private discomfort within organizations #expands (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3911
• Bystander silence legitimizes racial hostility toward Muslims in workplaces #complicates (0.80) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 329
• People voice political opinions privately but suppress them in group settings. #exemplifies (0.72)