Workplace democracy. Theory, practice, and the cooperatives of Veneto

Abstract

The present work seeks to critically evaluate Workplace Democracy, that is, the submission of managerial authority within a workplace to electoral scrutiny by its workers. It establishes a negative-positive freedoms framework to structure the theoretical benefits of Workplace Democracy, suggesting, based on current literature, that Workplace Democracy may help prevent domination of management by workers (negative argument) and that it may help workers self-develop into active participants in their workplace and wider society (positive argument). It further establishes that Workplace Democracy is mainly practiced in the real world through cooperatives, co-determination, and, residually, employee-ownership schemes, and that the theoretical benefits suggested are not herein consistent, being circumstance-dependant. This study further conducts two interviews and a survey, both with cooperatives’ members, to determine if the negative and positive arguments apply to cooperatives in Veneto. The interviews suggest that the negative argument may more easily apply than the positive argument, with participation requiring active promotion and education within the cooperative. The survey failed to achieve statistical significance, but, for the participants, both negative and positive arguments apply. The study suggests at last that the creation of a Workplace Democracy Index, with participation as a pillar, can further the field’s understanding of Workplace Democracy, by seeking to actively measure participation within democratic workplaces, instead of assuming it as a default.