British Employees' Organizational Participation

The last two decades witnessed a resurgence ofinterest in the concept of employee's workplaceparticipation. The changes that occurred in thelandscape of the British economy, in particular therapid spread of information technologies andheightened international competitiveness, led to theemergence of the 'participative management' thesis.It recognizes the dysfunctional effects of tightsurveillance of workers and emphasizes the importanceof involving employees in organisationaldecision-making as a means of enhancing their workmotivation and performance quality. At the same time,participation is also seen as of major importance foremployee well-being, as being able to exercise avoice over workplace decisions is widely assumed tocontribute to workers' sense of competence andself-actualization. This study draws on twolarge-scale UK national surveys to empirically assess thetrends, determinants and effects of Britishemployees' organizational participation. By comparingmanagement data with employee data, it provides newinsights into whether participative management cangenerate a win-win situation that benefits bothemployers and employees.