ABFFE Book of the Month: Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace by Bruce Barry

Interview with the Author

ABFFE:  Are a lot of workers punished or fired for their speech?  Is this a common thing?

Bruce Barry:  There have been a number of these situations that have become visible, even newsworthy, because I think people are surprised to discover that the law makes it possible for employers to punish employees simply for their speech, even when that speech is not significantly related to job or workplace. My research has also uncovered numerous examples in the legal system – cases where workers get in trouble for their speech at work and seek relief in the courts.  I do not contend, however, that America’s employers are conspiring to repress workers as some sort of sinister collective assault on the Bill of Rights.  But when they do come down on worker speech, employers are taking what the law and conventional economic morality give them: the right to be reflexively suspicious of employee behavior that departs from managerial expectations or usual practice. 

ABFFE:  The title of your book refers to the “erosion” of free expression.  So it’s getting worse?

Bruce Barry:   Yes, I think there is some chipping away at people’s free speech rights. Employers appear to be more sensitive than ever to the consequences of employee free speech for the firm’s financial and reputational well being. I think that many employers are increasingly worried about the integrity of their brands and their reputations.  Corporations are also more interested than ever in trying to influence public policy on economic, cultural, and even social issues, which means apprehension about speech by employees that may depart from the ‘preferred’ point of view.  Workers, meanwhile, find themselves with diminishing job security and less predictable or stable career paths, which translate into more reasons to be concerned about how your boss may respond to your extracurricular speech.

ABFFE:  How is employee free speech affected by new technology – email, websites, blogs, instant messaging, and so forth – which appear to be catalyzing more speech?

Bruce Barry:   Technology gives workers new more ways to speak now, and at times all the noise and bluster can make it seem as though we’re in a golden age for free expression in society, and that includes workers. Many people write blogs about their jobs, and some employers even encourage blogging. So how could there be an erosion of freedom of expression?  The answer is that just as these new electronic tools give people more avenues for speech, they give employers more avenues for monitoring that speech and, as a result, more reasons to worry about that speech.  A lot of the workplace-related speech we see online isn’t necessarily “new” speech; it’s the same old speech in a new, more public form.  People have been kvetching about jobs and co-workers and bosses for as long as there have been jobs and co-workers and bosses.  People are also talking, as they always have, about things only dimly related or even unrelated to work – political issues, industry trends, community matters – but now employers have easier means to discover it and disapprove.

ABFFE:  With everything workers have to worry about these days –job security, wages, career advancement, health care, and all the rest – how much does free speech matter in the grand scheme of things?

Bruce Barry:   I think this matters not just because employer tyranny is bad or because employees ought to have more speech opportunities just for the sake of it or because free speech somehow feels good.  I believe this matters for the kind of civil society we live in, and even for the health of our democracy.  Work is a place where many people form ties and connections with others. It’s where individuals develop affiliations that lead to civic, community, and political involvement. It’s where many adults spend much of their waking lives, and where they can interact with other adults. When an employer fires, say, a blogger for speech that isn’t likely to seriously harm the firm, it sends a chilling message to everyone else: your employer is watching and listening and reading, and is willing to use its power to silence expression it doesn’t like.  To the extent that workers feel this kind of pressure to curtail or self-censor their speech, I see serious detrimental effects on the quality of civic engagement and participation in community affairs.

ABFFE:   What do you hope your book can accomplish?

Bruce Barry:  I’d like to change how people think about the connection between freedom of speech and workplace rights.  In a recent national survey, more than 80% of Americans said that the idea of firing people for their political opinions is inappropriate.  A similar number also said (incorrectly) that it is illegal for employers to do so.  So what I am hoping that the book will raise awareness that free speech rights when you go to work really are very limited and that this extends to your expressive behavior after work , away from the job.  I also propose some remedies. The answer lies partially in the law, and I propose some changes to our system of employment law that could help. But using the law to compel reforms in employer behavior may be less important than persuading them to change their mindset – to reconsider the potential threats posed to their businesses or their workplaces by employees’ speech. Many employers have too quick a trigger of alarm and apprehension, leading to actions and policies that might be well-intentioned but that actually chill a lot of speech.   I’d like my book to contribute to a change in how managers and employers think about the intersection of employer prerogative, worker rights, and the health of deliberative democracy in a free society, and about their role therein.