Contact: Randy Hodson, (614) 292-8951, [email protected]
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457, [email protected]
PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT HURTS EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One of the hot new trends in management -- worker participation -- has been touted as a boon to employees because it allows them to play an active role in making decisions involving their jobs.
But such management systems, which often involve workplace teams, may hurt relations among co-workers, a new study suggests.
"Participative management has had mixed results for workers," said Randy Hodson, author of the study and professor of sociology at Ohio State University.
"Employees seem to show relatively high levels of job satisfaction and pride in their work, but they don't necessarily get along any better with their fellow workers."
The study was published in a recent issue of the American Sociological Review.
The results showed that, compared with other forms of management, worker participation didn't do well at promoting friendships or a sense of solidarity among co-workers or promoting a helping atmosphere on the job.
Although the study didn't look at why co-worker relations suffered, Hodson said it probably has to do with the nature of workplace teams that are an integral part of participative management.
"Working that closely with others can be stressful," he said. "It can lead to bickering and sniping and expose a lot of personal issues. In addition, it can foster a sense of competition among workers who want to show they're as good or better than others on their team."
Hodson compared how workers fared under different management systems by examining 86 book-length studies of employees in various workplace settings.
For each of the studies he examined, Hodson determined under which kind of management system the employees worked - - bureaucratic, worker participation, craft, direct supervision or assembly line. He then looked at how the workers did under a variety of different measures, such as job satisfaction, pride in work, knowledge of their jobs, solidarity with co-workers, and friendships with other workers.
The results showed that on most measures, the best form of management for workers was craft. Craft workers have jobs where they enjoy a great deal of autonomy to decide how they will do their work, based on their extensive training and skills. Many professionals such as doctors and lawyers operate under craft management. Construction trade employees, locomotive engineers and fire fighters often have craft jobs.
Participative management was generally the second best form of workplace organization for employees. Next came bureaucratic management, which is based on extensive written rules. Fourth best for workers was assembly line work, in which jobs are governed by the pace of machines. The direct supervision form of management -- which involves bosses directly supervising the details of work tasks -- was generally worst for workers.
Hodson said he sees participative forms of management continuing to grow in popularity.
Bureaucratic, assembly line, and direct supervision styles of management are now seen by most managers as limiting efficiency and productivity. The craft form of management, however, is not suitable for many occupations. That leaves participative management as the best choice for many workplaces.
Hodson said he is optimistic that the flaws of participative management can be at least somewhat corrected.
Workers under participative management are generally satisfied with their jobs and feel pride in their work, which suggests this type of workplace organization can be employee-friendly.
"I think participative management can be used to improve workers' lives," Hodson said. "The fact that workers don't yet get along very well under the system is probably hurting efficiency and productivity. But that's an impetus for companies to improve the system. I think companies have a strong incentive to experiment with new forms of worker participation that also bring better co- worker relations."
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