The rise and rise of workplace activism and the power of speak up cultures with Megan Reitz and John Higgins IoIC, The Institute of Internal Communication

02 Apr 2025

With so many pressing environmental and social challenges to address, workplace activism is on the rise. Concerned citizens are increasingly using whatever means they have – whether as consumers, shareholders, or increasingly now, workers – to raise awareness and effect change for the issues that matter to them.

This has dynamic consequences for business. Organisations must work out how best to respond to colleagues who bring social and environmental justice issues to work. Those that refuse to listen to the concerns of their staff face disengagement, or worse, mutiny.

How can – and should - leaders shift from traditionally hierarchical ways of thinking about the views and opinions of their workers towards leveraging and integrating those views for the benefit of all?

In this episode, Jen, Dom and Cat speak to Megan Reitz and John Higgins, co-authors of Speak Up: Say What Needs to be Said and Hear What Needs to be Heard. They explore the role of colleague voice in engagement and look at the role of internal communication in helping organisations become better equipped to hear – and leverage – the views that matter.