Employee Participation: An Experimental Field Study

Abstract

An experimental field study involving over three hundred blue-collar male employees and their superiors was conducted to investigate the hypothesis that participation in management decision-making is a determinant of satisfaction at work. A system of participation - Action Planning Groups - based on regular meetings between shop-floor employees and management proved effective in influencing organizational decisionmaking and was seen to be worthwhile by both parties. However, the increased participation achieved was not reflected in greater employee satisfaction. It is argued that these findings are consistent with previous experimental evidence. The reasons which lie behind the frequently expressed belief that participation is an important determinant of satisfaction at work are discussed. Employee desires for participation were also found to be unaffected by the experimental manipulation.