Sharing is ethicizing: Examining the impact of sharing observed unethical behavior with family members on ethical voice at work

"It takes a village" to build an ethical workplace, and employees who witness unethical behavior in the workplace play a crucial role in alerting organizations to wrongdoing and preventing its recurrence. While prior research has primarily focused on personal and intraorganizational factors shaping observer responses to workplace unethical behavior, the potential influence of extraorganizational factors has been largely overlooked. Recognizing that employees often share workplace experiences with close others, such as their family members, we explore how the extent of sharing with family members influences employee responses to observed unethical behavior. Integrating the functional perspective of rumination and social sharing research, we theorize that the extent of sharing with family members increases observer reflective rumination about the unethical behavior and their tendency to engage in ethical voice at work. We found empirical evidence in two critical incident surveys (Studies 1 and 4), an experiment (Study 2), and a cross-lagged panel survey (Study 3). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).