Workplace democratization is a generational shift in attitudes and expectations of the role of companies and leaders of those companies in being a positive influence in improving society and making the world a better place. The millennial generation and those following in its footsteps want more than a solid paycheck and great work-life balance from the place they work.

What is Workplace Democracy?

When democratic practices are applied at work, we say that there is workplace democracy. Voting, surveys, debates, and suggestion boxes are all examples of this. Choosing a method that works for the organization means finding an application strategy that is appropriate for the size and nature of the organization you work for. Workplace democracy can take many different forms, from large-scale direct democracy where each employee’s vote effectively has the same weight to smaller initiatives that may only apply to a particular sector or department of the organization.

Employee ownership, where employees have an equity stake in the company and, as a result, have voting rights and a higher emotional stake in the organization’s success, is a growingly popular type of workplace democracy. Some businesses use a combination of employee ownership and participatory management to ingrain democratic values into their decision-making procedures.

There are several approaches to take, some considerably more ambitious than others. Small businesses and nonprofit organizations that support pure, direct democracy represent one extreme. In all but the tiniest businesses, this would be cumbersome because more time would be spent deciding than actually doing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are companies whose executives adopt current management trends, and encourage their staff to “feel like owners,” but do little else.

Why Establish Democracy at Work?

Employee pride in the company can be instilled through workplace democracy. Increased productivity and efficiency may result from this. When employees are involved in decision-making, they feel ownership and duty to fully comprehend pertinent concerns. The staff can then make decisions that benefit the organization using their best judgment. Worker self-esteem and creative satisfaction are increased by this form of empowerment. Additionally, it may increase a worker’s aspirations and vigor, which will enhance performance. The entire business benefits when management can pinpoint problem areas and rapidly resolve them.

Creating Workplace Democracy

The most crucial thing to keep in mind while attempting to develop a workplace democracy in order to increase employee engagement is that workers are people and prefer to be treated as such. They want specific liberties, a chance to be heard, a sense of belonging, and the belief that the business depends on them. People need to be listened to when they have something to say, acknowledged when they achieve, and pardoned when they make mistakes. You’ll be able to establish a fantastic workplace democracy that benefits everyone if you can use this strategy with your colleagues.

Benefits of a Democratic Workplace

Let’s explore the advantages of workplace democracy.

Democratic businesses attract talent
People who are intelligent, creative, and motivated by themselves — the ideal employee — will pick the latter if given the option. People want to work in an environment where they feel valued and heard, regardless of money or prestige. In order to win the talent battle and recruit the employees their companies need to advance, executives and owners must look beyond motivational gimmicks.

Democratic businesses have happier employees
According to recent research by the Gallup Organization, the US workforce as a whole is disengaged at work to the tune of $300 billion annually. Employees claim that being disengaged has an effect on both their physical and mental health. Employees who are engaged, however, experience the reverse. By definition, a democratic system is engaging and helps employees’ physical and mental health every day. People are happier when they are involved, have a voice, and are treated as intellectual humans, which also makes the workplace happier.

Democratic businesses develop smarter solutions
When employees are engaged and have a stake in the outcomes of the company, everyone has the incentive to innovate. A sense of ownership rewards employers in the end by bringing about innovation to the company.

Democratic businesses use democracy to increase profits
The bottom line is affected by democracy because it attracts top talent, reduces attrition and absenteeism, and creates a more creative staff that acts promptly on ideas. A workplace with fewer management levels as a result of a flatter, more decentralized system allows for the deployment of funds for hiring excellent employees as opposed to managing underperformers. Democracy results in a business that is leaner, faster, happier, and more innovative—factors that improve the bottom line.

How to Implement This in Practice?

Encourage everyone to contribute: Encourage everyone to contribute their ideas as one democratic practice you can implement. Your team must initially believe that their input and ideas are valued for this to be successful. This is possible by:

➔  Regular surveys and questionnaires

➔  Team decision-making by voting

➔  Requesting suggestions for a better method of doing a task

➔  Requesting feedback directly from coworkers as opposed to posing open-ended inquiries

➔  For individuals who would want to provide anonymous feedback, there are suggestion boxes.

Talk to your group: Having a conversation with your staff, even if it’s not always about business, serves to reassure them that they may contact you with any questions or comments. If you’re a manager, you want any problems to be brought to your notice right away. Making sure your team feels at ease sharing information with you can therefore speed up this process. This again relates to making sure your team members feel as though their opinions are being heard. Even though it can seem easy, starting a conversation might help your company as a whole communicate better.

Assign tasks: Giving jobs to other team members when it’s feasible demonstrates your confidence in their ability to complete them well. Additionally, it provides them a chance to show you what they are capable of, which can reduce your workload in the future.
Recognize individual performance: Giving your team input is also a part of workplace democracy, not only receiving it from them. Therefore, acknowledge it and let the person know they are doing a fantastic job if you see them. Recognizing your team’s performance frequently keeps them interested and motivated at work.

Be Transparent: Businesses must be transparent, just like democratic governments. There shouldn’t be any secret goals or strategies that only you and your team members are aware of. Governments will undoubtedly own classified information in order to safeguard their citizens, but this information will rarely be required in the workplace. Most of the time, you should be willing to divulge information to your staff because doing so will increase their trust in you and their sense of loyalty to the business.

Avoid Creating Hierarchies: A company that views its people differently cannot exist. You must understand that no department is more significant than any other in a democratic workplace. Even though sales is the department that generates the majority of revenue, it is just as crucial as accounting, human resources, or reception. Always keep in mind that without any one of those areas, the company cannot run effectively. Treat each department fairly and equitably.

Delegation of Responsibilities: Democracy heavily relies on the delegation of tasks, thus it would be advisable to follow the proper procedures while doing it in your company. To ensure that everyone knows their role and that nothing slips through the gaps, you must be explicit about who is accountable for which responsibilities. You’ll be astonished at what people can accomplish if you appropriately distribute tasks to them and allow them an opportunity to shine.

Examples of Companies That Practice Workplace Democracy Mondragon

The Mondragon Cooperative Corporation

The Mondragon Cooperative Corporation is the biggest worker cooperative in the entire world and, as a result, the biggest business that practices some sort of workplace democracy. Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Semler converted his family business, a light manufacturing company known as Semco, into a totally democratic enterprise where managers were chosen via employee elections and interviews in the 1980s. With the complete participation of all employees, all administrative decisions were open to democratic examination, discussion, and voting. He and the business attracted a lot of attention thanks to this unconventional management style. Semler contended that giving control of the business to the employees was the only way for him to free up time to go establish the government, customer, and other relationships necessary for the company to develop. Semler was able to concentrate on marketing, positioning, and giving advice as if he were, in essence, an outside management consultant employed by the company by giving up the fight to maintain any control of internals.

Mold Marland

Severino Marchetto and Paul Ferland founded Marland Mold in 1946 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Initially, the business created and manufactured steel molds for plastic goods in the 1950s and 1960s. The proprietors sold the business in 1969 to VCA, which The Ethyl Corporation later acquired. Due to a disagreement over health insurance, the Marland Mold employees decided to join the International Union of Electrical Workers. The Pittsfield facility’s revenues decreased as the plant manager began to pay less attention and devote less time to it. In 1992, the plant was put up for sale. Even though they had previously opposed employee ownership, the workers ultimately decided to buy out the plant because they needed to keep their employment. A sudden surge in output allowed them to complete molds that would have ordinarily taken 3,000 hours to complete in 2,200 hours. Now that they had a financial stake in the business, they had a new incentive to see it succeed. The teaching of all members about their new roles and the creation of an ownership culture within the company were the other two principles that were crucial to their success. They had formally acquired all ownership equity and buyout lenders by 1995, making the company entirely employee-owned. Employees were also able to obtain a wider perspective on the business through all of this, including the ability to comprehend other people’s perspectives on various workplace problems.

Other Companies:

● John Lewis Partnership, UK
● Kantega, Norway
● Recovered Companies, Argentina
● Brukman
● Egged
● Evergreen Cooperatives
● FaSinPat
● Suma Wholefoods
● Tandanor shipyard
● The Meriden Motorcycle Co-operative