Public Policy and Employee Participation

Employee participation is frequently seen as a private issue for organizations and their employees. Employee participation programmes can generate positive externalities with benefits for more than the corporate bottom line; similarly, the lack or repression of various forms of employee participation can cause harm through negative externalities that spillover into families, communities, and nations. When seen in this light, it becomes clear that employee participation is more than a private affair. Rather, it raises important issues for public policy through governmental regulation of the employment relationship. This article discusses the rationales for public policy interventions in the domain of employee participation and describes various policies that policymakers in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere are using or can use to promote forms of employee participation which benefit not only organizations but also workers and their families and communities.