Civil servants’ inter-departmental social ties as an impetus for voicing ideas for improvement

This article examines whether, why and how inter-departmental networking behaviour enhances employees’ voice behaviour. Current literature suggests that employees’ willingness to voice ideas for improvement is contingent on managers creating an empowering and safe environment, yet external networking can also play a role by broadening employees’ horizons, alerting them to overlooked problems and providing them with access to alternative policy solutions and to strategic information regarding the position of other departments. Using a mixed-method of survey and focus groups, we show the association, and unpack the underlying mechanisms, between the intensity of public-sector employees’ networking with colleagues in other departments and their inclination to engage in voice behaviour.