Strenthening democracy at work strengthens civic democracy:

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'Democracy at Work'

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Strengthening democracy at work strengthens civic democracy: employees in jobs with greater autonomy and involvement are more politically active and have more trust in democracy.

They consider themselves more able to influence politics and also more often report that they are interested in politics.

What do we mean by democracy at work:

the various forms of workers' involvement

'Democracy at work' authors:

Stan De Spiegelaere, Aline Hoffmann, Romuald Jagodzinski, Sara Lafuente Hernandez, Zane Rasnaca and Sigurt Vitols

Infographic and presentation design: R. Jagodzinski

Powered by: the European Participation Index (S. Vitols, ETUI).

New technologies, materials and forms of work cause new hazards and risks that both the legislator and individual companies need to prevent.

Regular risk assessments is carried out more frequently in companies where employee representation structures are present. Training for line managers and team leaders about health and safety protection is more frequent in such companies.

Psychosocial risk assessment and preventive measures are more frequent in companies with health and safety workers’ representation.

Popular arguments and beliefs against democracy at work suggest that countries where employees have more voice are less open to lower quality and low-paid jobs, because they tend to push for higher wages and better quality jobs, which could decrease the number of available jobs in the economy.

However, data on relation between democracy at work and employment rate (see above fig. 4.5) shows that on average countries with more democracy at work also have more people in work.

When workers are represented on a company’s board, their company is generally more sustainable vis-à-vis workers, the environment, and society as a whole. Companies with board-level employee representation (BLER) score better than companies without it across six different sustainability domains; these include not only human resources but also policies on the environment, human rights, responsible business behaviour, community involvement and corporate governance.

Workers tend to have a longer-term interest in their company than do managers and shareholders.

Organized employee voice on all levels is a strong antidote for inequality as it reduces management and shareholder greed and ensures higher (and equal) wages. Workers’ participation at company level was found to affect income distribution at the macroeconomic level and to lead to generally higher income equality. It also helps to keep short-termism in corporate decision-making at bay and to move away from the shareholder-oriented corporate governance that fuels rising inequalities.

Companies operate differently when they are obliged by consultation procedures to share information, respond to critical questions and justify their decisions and actions; where board-level employee participation is in place, this scrutiny of top-level strategic and financial decision-making is even closer.

Greater worker involvement at the workplace means more equal societies.

Several studies have observed that where there is a union or works council presence there is an overall safer climate for workers to share ideas (even disruptive ones) about how to work better

(De Spiegelaere et al. 2014).

A comparison of the European Participation Index with country innovativeness (as measured by the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index) shows a positive relationship between the two variables (Vitols 2018a).

Data suggests that democracy at work goes hand in hand with higher productivity, a higher labour force participation rate, and more innovation. A triple win.

On average, countries with higher levels of workplace democracy have been experiencing less severe levels of pay disparity between top managers and workers (CEO-to-worker pay ratio).

In countries where employees have access to collective interest representation workers are much more likely to have a high-quality job.

This can be seen in the:

- limitation of physical risk factors (noise, danger, chemicals)

- better career prospects

- better job autonomy.

- employees are less likely to work long hours

- employer views work-life balance more as shared responsibility.

Democracy at work is clearly linked to good-quality and high degree of life satisfaction.

Worker participation increases the ability of companies to use the experience, tacit knowledge and on-the-spot improvisation of the employees that make ‘planned work’ possible despite the unpredictability of the ‘real world’. Workers are more motivated and committed when they can exercise ‘voice’ and power within the firm. If workers can voice their concerns, then problems are more likely to be addressed. Workers’ knowledge is essential for the effective and productive functioning of companies; when employees share their knowledge, identify and solve problems, the whole organisation learns and develops.

Countries with a low level of industrial democracy tend to be less productive than more democratic countries.

On top of job quality and safety of working conditions, satisfaction with work is derived also from the figure on the pay slip. At company level, by means of collective interest representation such as e.g. collective bargaining, workers are better paid.

Democracy at work is clearly linked to good-quality, well-paid jobs and a high degree of life satisfaction.