JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 8, ISSUE 02, 2021 1262 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE VOICE BEHAVIOR ON JOB SATISFACTION MUHAMMAD NAEEM AHMED 1* DR. MUHAMMAD AZEEM QURESHI 2 1 Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Aiwan-e-Tijarat Road, Karachi, Pakistan 2 Assistant Professor, Institute of Business Management, Korangi Creek, Karachi, Pakistan 1 naeem.ahmed@smiu.edu.pk * Corresponding author 2 azeem.qureshi@iobm.edu.pk Abstract Background: Research has indicated that voice behavior engages and empowers employees and helps them in dealing with organizational stress. Employee voice has mostly been conceptualized as a dependent variable. The empirical evidence on the effects of voice behavior for an individual is mixed. Purpose: By synthesizing the existing literature, this study aimed to contribute to the literature a better understanding of the link between employee voice and job satisfaction. Data: A total of 1635 peer-reviewed research papers were identified during the initial search. After removing the papers which were not relevant to answer the research question for this study, 46 papers remained. Application of the eligibility and MMAT criteria 23 full-text research articles were included in this review. Results: The review of the literature shows considerable differences in findings related to the effects of the direct and collective voice. Direct employee voice is positively related to job satisfaction whereas no association, or at times negative association, was observed between collective voice and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was more strongly associated with employee voice for older employees compared to Gen Y employees. The HR and organizational strategies which encourage voice behavior result in higher job satisfaction. Employee silence leads to lower job satisfaction. The review also revealed that for female employees the voice buffers the negative job satisfaction that stems from a poor and hostile work environment. Implications: Organizations should develop mechanisms which encourage their employees to share their opinions and raise concern which would not only positively affect their positive job attitudes but would also be beneficial for the organizations. KEYWORDS: Employee voice, Job satisfaction, Employee silence, Director Voice, Employee participation, Systematic review, voice behavior, unionization, collective voice, employee involvement and participation (EIP) 1. Introduction The degree to which employees in an organization communicate upward their ideas, opinions, suggestions and information about work-related issues and concerns can have great implications for an organization’s productivity and performance. In order to make better decisions and to understand ground realities and business dynamics, senior managers need feedback and information from lower-level employees – the information that the managers might not acquire otherwise (1). However, research evidence shows that employees are often hesitant to speak up, make suggestions to their supervisors or to their colleagues, particularly when the employees have potentially critical information to share (2,3). One reason why many employees remain reluctant to speak up is that making suggestions for improvement and challenging the status quo cost time and energy and is socially risky (4,5). On the other hand, research has also indicated that voice behavior engages employees and empowers them (6) and helps them in dealing with organizational stress (7). Engaging in voice behavior could also help employees advancing their careers and job performance (8). The conceptualization of the construct of employee voice is done as a behavior instead of an attitude or perception. LePine and Van Dyne, the leading scholars in voice research, defined employee voice behavior as “constructive change‐oriented communication intended to improve the situation” (9 p326). Bringing potential work-related