Democratized Work

Abstract

The chapter discusses concepts and practices of democratized work. Rather than arguing for the democratization of work through an analogy with democratic political institutions, it starts from the notion of democracy as a social norm that informs all types of interaction in society. This wide view of democracy informs our understanding of democracy as covering dimensions beyond formal representative institutions, and in particular, it focuses on situated patterns of social interaction in the field of work. According to this enlarged view, democratized work can be achieved in manifold ways and at different levels: not only through direct participation or the delegation of decision-making but through collective participation in the definition and achievement of shared goals, in the execution of work activities, and even in the enactment of organizational concepts and technologies. Theorizing and studying democratized work, therefore, requires that we broaden our horizons to take a detailed look at just how people work and how technologies and work organization shape work processes and patterns of interaction among employees as well as among employees and supervisors, managers and customers. An overview of different perspectives on workplace democracy is combined with empirical research on important concepts of democratizing horizontal and hierarchical social relations at work.