Workplace social dialogue and employee participation

How can workplace social dialogue stimulate, resource and sustain high involvement work practice? 19-20 November 2012, Brussels, Belgium

Venue: Conseil Central de l'Economie, Rue de la Joyeuse Entrée 17-21, B-1000 Brussels

Objectives

Companies can engage directly with their employees (e.g. via suggestion schemes, employee surveys, general staff meetings) or via formal or non-formal employee representatives. Involvement can take place at the strategic as well as at the task-based level.

This Eurofound workshop will bring together researchers, social partners and government representatives to ponder over the following question: Under which conditions can workplace social dialogue stimulate, resource and sustain high involvement work practice? The discussions will feed into new research envisaged for Eurofound's 3rd European Company Survey (ECS).

On the agenda

The first part of the workshop will look into the resources required as a precondition for employee representatives’ engagement in employee involvement practices. This will include practical examples from higher level social partner organisations as to how they equip their members for workplace social dialogue.

In the second part a closer look will be paid to the role of social dialogue in stimulating and sustaining high involvement work practice. Workplace social dialogue, it will be argued, can help alleviate detrimental affects on worker well-being, when innovations take place within companies. Again, examples from the company level will show how this can look in practice.

A background note, a programme. and the presentations are available.