Exploring what makes companies work / Eurofound News, April 2015

Establishments with more extensive practices for direct employee participation score better in terms of establishment performance and workplace well-being, according to the recently published overview report of Eurofound’s third European Company Survey.

Two different combinations of workplace practices are particularly associated with better performance and greater well-being. The first – especially prevalent in larger organisations – brings together a top-down approach to decision-making on daily tasks, a highly structured internal organisation, extensive investment in human resource management, and extensive practices for direct and indirect employee participation in organisational decision-making. The second, more prevalent in small and medium-sized establishments, sees a joint approach to decision-making on daily tasks, moderately structured internal organisation and limited investment in HRM, combined with extensive practices for direct employee participation. The key common denominator is the facilitation of direct employee participation. The findings also imply that the combination of practices needs to match the circumstances and characteristics of the establishment. Download the overview report Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being.