Why avoiding workplace confrontation is common in Czechia

Would you tell your boss they were wrong?

Nearly half of Czech employees don't give their bosses critical feedback directly, according to the 2026 Employee Barometer from Up Benefity. Some discuss their concerns with colleagues instead, while others keep them to themselves or use anonymous channels.

The result suggests that the problem is not necessarily a lack of opinions. It is what happens when employees believe there is little to gain, or something to lose, by expressing them.

“They prefer to keep criticism to themselves or discuss it only with colleagues,” said Stéphane Nicoletti, CEO of Up Benefity.

The bigger issue is the information employees choose not to share.

Among employees who hold back, nearly three in 10 say they have previously experienced a situation in which honesty backfired. A similar share believe their feedback would not actually change anything. Others fear consequences for their job, bonuses, or relationships at work.

The comments employees find hardest to deliver are often the ones that challenge a manager's decision, authority or expectations, telling a boss that something is unfair, that a task is not part of the job, or that another approach might work better.

Employees may hesitate to say that something is unfair, that a task is not part of their job or that another company does things differently.

By contrast, the safer responses are reassuring ones: “I have it under control,” “How can I help?” or “Everything is ready and in order.”

Nearly half of employees also say they sometimes “adjust the truth” at work to avoid unnecessary conflict or problems. Some do so to protect themselves or colleagues from potential consequences.

The distrust runs in both directions. About 40 percent of employees say management sometimes filters or obscures information depending on what suits it, while another 40 percent say managers share important information but keep some things to themselves. Only about one in 10 say they trust management almost completely.

The communication gap becomes particularly visible when something goes wrong.

When a company makes a major mistake that directly affects employees, about two-thirds say they learn about it through official channels.

Others hear about it through colleagues, workplace chats, or outside sources. More than one in 10 say they would never find out about it at all.

The result can be a workplace where information travels sideways rather than upward, with employees discussing problems among themselves while management remains unaware.

That does not necessarily make this a uniquely Czech problem. Employees everywhere can hesitate to challenge the people who control their careers. But Czech workplaces have also been shaped by a traditionally hierarchical management culture, a legacy that can make direct disagreement with authority particularly uncomfortable.

Research published in the Journal of World Business suggests that leaders from the United States and Western Europe can be viewed more favorably than equally qualified leaders from countries including Czechia, Poland, and Albania.

The researchers describe this as a “developed nation advantage”: assumptions about a country's institutions and economic development can influence how people judge an individual leader.

Previous Expats.cz reporting has also examined the legacy of communist-era management in Czech workplaces, where hierarchical, top-down authority and avoiding mistakes could take precedence over collaboration and open feedback.

That legacy is increasingly colliding with a more international workplace culture.

For internationals working in Prague, the difference can be easy to misread. A Czech colleague who appears to agree with a manager may simply be choosing not to challenge the decision openly.

Meanwhile, Czech employees working for international managers may suddenly be expected to give the kind of direct feedback that was not always encouraged in more traditional workplaces.

Is there a fix? UpBenefity, which has developed a whistleblower app, suggests the solution may lie less in asking employees to speak up than in creating an environment where they feel able to do so.

If employees are keeping criticism to themselves or discussing it only with colleagues, the findings suggest that "managers may need to create more space for open disagreement and honest feedback."