Wie kommt die Beteiligung der Arbeitnehmer an der Entscheidungsfindung den Unternehmen zugute?

In total, 29% of employees in the EU, Norway and the United Kingdom work in forms of work organisation that provide a high level of employee involvement – meaning that employees are able to exercise their own initiative in carrying out tasks and have substantial input, either individually or collectively, in decisions that affect the wider organisation.

Nearly half of employees (47%) working in a high-involvement organisation report a high level of work engagement, almost double the share working in low-involvement organisations (24%). Highly engaged employees demonstrate a more positive orientation towards their work. They are less often absent from work, more likely to put in extra effort, prefer a later retirement age, and report higher levels of well-being.

High-involvement organisation provides more opportunity for both formal and informal skill development, but it is particularly strongly associated with informal skill development. This finding implies that high involvement is most likely to promote the practical expertise that underpins innovative thinking and to increase the capacity of organisations to adapt to changing technological and market environments.

High-involvement organisation has a levelling effect with respect to skill development. Differences in opportunities for skill development between high-skilled and lower-skilled employees are lower in high-involvement organisations.

These findings together suggest that it is particularly important to raise the decision-making latitude of less-skilled workers if employers are to optimise the performance of their workforce as a whole.