Recently published research from Eurofound shows that employee involvement can support employers’ objectives in raising levels of work performance and can also enhance the quality of employees’ lives at work.
The extent to which employee involvement leads to mutual benefits for the employer and employee is not well understood presently in terms of ‘hard data’ and research evidence, but this report adds to the growing body of evidence which supports the case for employee involvement in organisations.
The report on work organisation and employee involvement in Europe draws on data from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions Survey.
Greater involvement is associated with stronger employee motivation in terms of commitment to the work task and to the wider organisation. Those reporting that work organisation is motivating performance rose from 47% in low involvement to 76% in high involvement organisations.
The research also found that greater opportunities for involvement in decision-making were associated with higher levels of psychological well-being – for both men and women.
However, the Eurofound report shows only about a quarter of employees in Europe (27%) are working in high involvement organisations.
Higher levels of employee involvement are more likely to be found in companies with relatively advanced technology and a more skilled workforce.
