Macklin, Rob2019-09-252019-09-252010-03-032004http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/174022Freedom of speech is an important right in liberal democratic societies. It is also a concept that can cause significant academic and public debate. However, discussions of free speech are generally limited to analysis of people’s rights and capacities to speak on political issues. Very little work has been done in other arenas such as the workplace where many people spend a large part of their time. This paper reports on a research project that examines the status of free speech at work through a qualitative study of employees in Australian organisations. The project sought to provide insights into what managers and non-managerial employees in Australian organisations take a right to freedom of speech as meaning within workplace settings; their experiences and understandings of their capacity to speak freely at the workplace; and how they make sense of or explain any difference between their rights and capacities at work. This paper provides a description of the qualitative findings and points towards future analysis and research tasks to be undertaken by the project team.engWith permission of the license/copyright holderfreedommanagementEconomic ethicsBusiness ethicsLabour/professional ethicsPreprint