Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter

A better world with more democracy at work

Stan De Spiegelaere and Sigurt Vitols 23rd November 2020

For democracy to work well requires democracy in the workplace.

democracy at work, democracy in the workplace, co-determination
Stan De Spiegelaere

‘You know what? Our whole education is a lie. We learned how to be critical citizens for years, develop our own opinions, question common sense and speak up for our own ideas. Forget all that, my friend—in companies that is not appreciated.’

This was one of my schoolmates, who started work as a bank clerk. What my friend experienced—in the manner of a cold shower—was the difficult fit between democracy in politics and the lack of democracy in the companies and organizations in which we work.

democracy at work, democracy in the workplace, co-determination
Sigurt Vitols

We all know that democracy, however flawed, remains the best of all political systems. In principle the same should hold for the economy: infusing the workplace with more democracy should result in more equitable, innovative, job-rich societies—and, indeed, more political stability.

Positive correlations

We can assess democracy at work by country using the European Participation Index. Comparing this with employment, equality, investment in research and development, labour share, lack of in-work poverty and level of political democracy, at the European Trade Union Institute we observed consistent positive correlations (see the interactive dataset). In other words, where employees have a say in how companies are run, where unions are strong and collective-bargaining coverage is broad, and where employees have a representative who can defend their vision and interest, societies perform better.

Our job is keeping you informed!


Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Social Europe content.


We will never send you spam and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Thank you!

Please check your inbox and click on the link in the confirmation email to complete your newsletter subscription.

.

That makes perfect sense. Just as political democracy ensures there is oversight of the government, democracy at work holds employers accountable for their actions. Whereas political democracy gives a voice to all citizens so that their interests can be taken into account, democracy at work injects the workers’ perspective into managerial decision-making.

Additionally, employees in companies have little to gain from short-term profits and much more from the long-term viability of their firm. Giving them a voice is thus likely to shift the balance of incentives from immediate executive remuneration towards investment and innovation.

Last but not least, infusing workplaces with democracy will reduce the tension between aspiring to be a critical political citizen yet being required to act as an obedient employee. Workers who can vote for workplace representatives, can have an influence on how the company is managed and experience the difficult but rewarding process of democracy in their firm are more likely to be citizens with greater confidence in political democracy who wish to participate more and voice their opinions in society.

Participation declining

The bad news, however, is that over the last decade the average country score in the European Participation Index has been declining almost consistently. On a scale of zero to one, the European average was hovering around 0.53 in 2009. Ten years later, it has fallen below 0.5.

The reasons for this decrease are not difficult to find. Over the last ten years, trade union density (the proportion of workers who are members) has declined in virtually all European countries. The same holds for collective-bargaining coverage (the proportion covered by a collective-bargaining agreement) and for access to employee representation.


We need your support


Social Europe is an independent publisher and we believe in freely available content. For this model to be sustainable, however, we depend on the solidarity of our readers. Become a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month and help us produce more articles, podcasts and videos. Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

This means that one of the cornerstones of the European social model, of its version of capitalism, is slowly weakening. The chicken which seemed once to lay golden eggs is losing its feathers.

Decisive choice

While damage has been done, though, nothing is lost forever. A decisive political choice for more democracy at work can turn the European tanker around, towards social amelioration. This entails reinforcing information and consultation rights, locally and European-wide, extending co-determination rights at board level, facilitating sector-wide collective bargaining and supporting the recruitment of new members by trade unions.

Only in this way can we make the most of those competences that we try to teach our children: critical thinking, speaking up, asking for the reasons behind decisions and having a say—in our societies and in our democracies. This would have made the transition to work easier for my childhood friend and for his superiors: he refused to shut his mouth and got into a lot of trouble. Now he is a successful human-resources manager.

Our education shouldn’t be a lie. Democracy should be common sense, politically and economically.

Stan De Spiegelaere and Sigurt Vitols

Stan De Spiegelaere is a senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). Sigurt Vitols is a senior researcher at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung and an associate researcher at the ETUI.

Home ・ Economy ・ A better world with more democracy at work

Most Popular Posts

schools,Sweden,Swedish,voucher,choice Sweden’s schools: Milton Friedman’s wet dreamLisa Pelling
world order,Russia,China,Europe,United States,US The coming world orderMarc Saxer
south working,remote work ‘South working’: the future of remote workAntonio Aloisi and Luisa Corazza
Russia,Putin,assets,oligarchs Seizing the assets of Russian oligarchsBranko Milanovic
Russians,support,war,Ukraine Why do Russians support the war against Ukraine?Svetlana Erpyleva

Most Recent Posts

trade,values,Russia,Ukraine,globalisation Peace and trade—a new perspectiveGustav Horn
biodiversity,COP15,China,climate COP15: negotiations must come out of the shadowsSandrine Maljean-Dubois
reproductive rights,abortion,hungary,eastern europe,united states,us,poland The uneven battlefield of reproductive rightsAndrea Pető
LNG,EIB,liquefied natural gas,European Investment Bank Ukraine is no reason to invest in gasXavier Sol
schools,Sweden,Swedish,voucher,choice Sweden’s schools: Milton Friedman’s wet dreamLisa Pelling

Other Social Europe Publications

The transatlantic relationship
Women and the coronavirus crisis
RE No. 12: Why No Economic Democracy in Sweden?
US election 2020
Corporate taxation in a globalised era

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

Bilan social / Social policy in the EU: state of play 2021 and perspectives

The new edition of the Bilan social 2021, co-produced by the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), reveals that while EU social policy-making took a blow in 2020, 2021 was guided by the re-emerging social aspirations of the European Commission and the launch of several important initiatives. Against the background of Covid-19, climate change and the debate on the future of Europe, the French presidency of the Council of the EU and the von der Leyen commission must now be closely scrutinised by EU citizens and social stakeholders.


AVAILABLE HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Living and working in Europe 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to be a defining force in 2021, and Eurofound continued its work of examining and recording the many and diverse impacts across the EU. Living and working in Europe 2021 provides a snapshot of the changes to employment, work and living conditions in Europe. It also summarises the agency’s findings on issues such as gender equality in employment, wealth inequality and labour shortages. These will have a significant bearing on recovery from the pandemic, resilience in the face of the war in Ukraine and a successful transition to a green and digital future.


AVAILABLE HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

EU Care Atlas: a new interactive data map showing how care deficits affect the gender earnings gap in the EU

Browse through the EU Care Atlas, a new interactive data map to help uncover what the statistics are often hiding: how care deficits directly feed into the gender earnings gap.

While attention is often focused on the gender pay gap (13%), the EU Care Atlas brings to light the more worrisome and complex picture of women’s economic inequalities. The pay gap is just one of three main elements that explain the overall earnings gap, which is estimated at 36.7%. The EU Care Atlas illustrates the urgent need to look beyond the pay gap and understand the interplay between the overall earnings gap and care imbalances.


BROWSE THROUGH THE MAP

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us on social media

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube