Voice Arrangements Research Articles

Employee voice in the Asia Pacific

This introduction introduces the special issue on employee voice in the Asia Pacific. Whilst there is an extensive literature on employee voice in western countries in regions such as Europe and the United States, we know less about the state of employee voice in the Asia Pacific regions. One of these gaps relates to how the institutional factors as well as national cultural factors influence the employee voice arrangements and mechanisms. While we have some understanding of how national contextual factors can influence employee voice behaviour, such as through leadership behaviour and supervisor‐subordinate relationships, there is still much to be understood with regard to how the different Asia Pacific cultural characteristics will influence voice. With governance and representative structures of voice embedded in particular institutional contexts there are significant differences not only between Asia Pacific economies and the rest of the world, but also between and within the Asia Pacific economies themselves.

Employee voice in a semi‐rural hospital: impact of resourcing, decision‐making and culture

The purpose of this paper is to understand current employee voice arrangements within a semi‐rural hospital and the implications for the engagement of healthcare professionals. The Job Demands‐Resources (JDR) model is used to explore how organisational mechanisms (resourcing, decision‐making processes and culture) provide a voice for staff. We adopt a single case study approach using in‐depth interviews with healthcare professionals in a semi‐rural public hospital in Australia. The study found that the semi‐rural context, characterised by high levels of centralised decision‐making and resourcing and low levels of confidentiality and anonymity, has limited employee voice and the ability for staff to participate in decisions affecting their work. This lack of voice has consequently had negative effects on engagement levels. We propose that employee voice be viewed as a distinct job resource, manifest through an organisation’s resourcing, decision‐making processes and culture, to generate a direct and positive effect on employee engagement.

Trust in management: the role of employee voice arrangements and perceived managerial opposition to unions

This study examines the relationship between employee voice arrangements and employees' trust in management using data from the 2007 Australian Worker Representation and Participation Survey of 1,022 employees. Drawing on social exchange theory and employee relations literature, we test hypotheses concerning the relationships between direct and union voice arrangements, perceived managerial opposition to unions and employees' trust in management. Consistent with our predictions, after controlling for a range of personal, job and workplace characteristics, regression analyses indicated that direct voice arrangements were positively related to employees' trust in management. Union voice arrangements and perceived managerial opposition to unions were negatively related to trust in management. The article concludes by highlighting the study's implications for management practice and avenues for further research.

‘Shopping for Voice’: Do Pre‐Existing Non‐Union Representation Plans Matter When Employees Unionize?

AbstractThe transition to unionization in three workplaces with pre‐existing non‐union employee representation plans (NERPs) is contrasted to three matched sites, which had only individual representation. Pre‐existing collective voice arrangements had substantial effects on the process and outcomes of unionization. While the individual representation sites presented a conventional process of mobilization and attachment to the union, the NERP sites revealed a more equivocal outcome. The union was used in an instrumental manner to increase NERP power and to achieve worker demands already articulated by the NERP. NERP leaders became union leaders. There remained significant attachment to the NERP and a reluctance to fully embrace unionization.

Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia: The centrality of direct voice

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between employee voice and job satisfaction using data from the 2007 Australian Workplace Representation Survey (AWRPS) of 1,022 employees. Drawing on human resource management and industrial relations literature, we test hypotheses concerning the relationship between direct and union voice arrangements and job satisfaction. This relationship represents a gap in the literature, which is important from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Controlling for a range of personal, job, and workplace characteristics, regression analyses suggest that although evidence of voice complementarity exists, direct voice appears to be the central voice arrangement underpinning employees' job satisfaction. The article concludes by highlighting the study's implications for management practice and identifies avenues for further research. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Industrial Relations Climate, Employee Voice and Managerial Attitudes to Unions: An Australian Study

AbstractThis article examines how employee voice arrangements and managerial attitudes to unions shape employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate, using data from the 2007 Australian Worker Representation and Participation Survey (AWRPS) of 1,022 employees. Controlling for a range of personal, job and workplace characteristics, regression analyses demonstrate that employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate are more likely to be favourable if they have access to direct‐only voice arrangements. Where management is perceived by employees to oppose unions (in unionized workplaces), the industrial relations climate is more likely to be reported as poor. These findings have theoretical implications, and significant practical implications for employers, employees, unions and the government.

Employee Representation and Consultative Voice in Multinational Companies Operating in Britain

AbstractMultinational companies (MNCs) from different countries of origin are widely held to have distinct preferences regarding the presence of employee representative structures and the form that employee ‘voice’ over management decisions takes. Such preferences are said to derive from the national models that prevail in the different countries of origin in which MNCs are based. Findings from a large‐scale survey of the UK operations of MNCs indicate that country‐of‐origin influences on patterns of employee representation and emphasis on direct or indirect channels of employee ‘voice’ are attenuated by other factors, notably sector and method of growth. They also reveal significant recent innovation in representation and voice arrangements by this key group of employers.

Hard law, soft edge? Information, consultation and partnership

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess whether the transposition of the EU directive on informing and consulting employees is likely to enhance voice and participation rights of Irish employees.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a literature based critique assessing the reasons for the “voice gaps” the evidence suggests exist in Irish workplaces and analysing the implications of the legal changes brought in by the information and consultation legislation.FindingsThe paper argues that the transposition of the EU directive provided a unique opportunity to bolster voice mechanisms in Irish workplaces and “plug” some of the gaps identified in the literature. However, the paper argues this opportunity has been largely squandered, as a result of the Irish Goversment's minimalist approach to “hard” regulation of information and consultation rights in the transposing legislation.Research limitations/implicationsThe EU directive is perhaps of most relevance to those interested in the employment relations in the Anglo‐Saxon countries (Ireland and the UK). The findings relate, in particular, to those countries. The paper considers the implications of the transposition, too, in terms of the role of the social partners in promoting voice at work.Practical implicationsEncouraging and developing employee voice arrangements is of great interest to academics and practitioners alike. The paper suggests ways in which legal changes can be used to further these objectives.Originality/valueThe paper assesses the likely public policy outcomes of a specific transposition process.

Implications of the EU Information and Consultation Directive and the Regulations in the UK – prospects for the future of employee representation

The EU Directive on informing and consulting employees (I&C Directive) is now established on the employment relations agenda with the provisions coming into force in the UK in April 2005. The I&C Directive potentially has far reaching consequences for the way UK employers inform and consult employees over a wide range of organizational issues, with the potential to transform the UK industrial relations environment. The initiatives contained in the I&C Directive and the subsequent introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations will take place in an employment relations environment in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity. This has led to a greater focus on the link between employee participation practices and business strategy and organizational performance in search of an elusive (or illusory) fit? This paper is a commentary on the origins and rationale of this new legislation in the UK context, drawing on existing knowledge and academic debates in the area. In addition, the paper discusses the potential implications of the I&C Directive and the likely impact of the ICE Regulations on UK representative voice arrangements.

Twin Tracks—Employee Representation at Eurotunnel Revisited

The introduction of the European Directive on Information and Consultation and the recent implementation of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations into United Kingdom (UK) law have increased the focus on workplace representation arrangements. This paper examines the interplay between nonunion and union representative arrangements at Eurotunnel (UK) and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees over a 5‐year period. Importantly, the paper also examines the opportunities and challenges of both nonunion representation (NER) and union voice arrangements. The findings show that the effectiveness of nonunion structures as bodies representing the interests of employees in filling the lack of representation is questionable. However, union recognition through an employer–union partnership agreement has also raised important issues regarding the effectiveness, impact, and legitimacy of unions at Eurotunnel. The main implication of this research is that the existence of a mechanism—union or nonunion—for communication between management and employees at the workplace may not be a sufficient condition for effective representation of employee interests. In addition, while trade unions may provide greater voice than nonunion arrangements (thus the reluctance of management to accept such voice arrangements), the strength of voice is dependent on the legitimacy and effectiveness of trade unions in representing employees’ interests at the workplace. And that in turn depends on the union being perceived by the workforce as both representative and able to act independently. If the union cannot, it will not meet the needs of either employees or management—and could run the risk of being supplanted under the provisions of the new EU Directive on Information and Consultation with tougher requirements for compliance in terms of procedures for consultation and information disclosure.

Conceptualising the dynamics of employee information and consultation: evidence from the Republic of Ireland

The debate concerning the emerging regulatory environment for employee voice continues apace, in particular the requirements to inform and consult employees as a result of the European Employee Information and Consultation Directive. This article examines the processes used to inform and consult employees across 15 case studies in the Republic of Ireland. It evaluates different voice arrangements using a conceptual framework that seeks to capture the dynamics of different employee voice schemes across union and non-union companies. The findings suggest that participation is more robust when the channels for information and consultation accommodate both conflictual and cooperative processes. It is shown that robust forms of participation are more likely through processes that facilitate independent representation. The evidence also shows that some employers may devise their own counterbalancing forms of (pseudo) consultation, in an attempt to minimise the impact of regulatory rights for employee voice.

A comparison of the effectiveness of employee voice arrangements in Australia

The incidence and effectiveness of different forms of employee voice were compared across three measures: perceived managerial responsiveness to employee needs, job control and influence over job rewards. Multiple regression analyses revealed that voice was perceived as most effective when an amalgam of different forms was present. The effective coexistence of different forms of voice challenges the notion that non-union voice acts as a substitute for union representation.

Representation at Suncorp – what do the employees want?

It is apparent from existing research that little is known about the effectiveness of non‐union employee representation (NER) voice arrangements in Australian firms. This article examines both the non‐union Suncorp‐Metway Employee Council (SMEC) and union voice arrangements at an Australian financial services firm, Suncorp, and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees. This study is unique because it is one of the few examples of dual representation channels at a single firm. Overall the findings suggest that the effectiveness of union and NER arrangements is dependent on the union and NER voice channels being perceived by the workforce as both representative and able to act effectively or independently. However, while trade unions may provide greater voice than non‐union arrangements, the strength of voice is dependent on the legitimacy and effectiveness of trade unions in representing employees' interests at the workplace. The findings also suggest that the marginalisation strategy used by the union in excluding SMEC from its industrial campaigns, coupled with employees' perception of a lack of effective union voice, could impact negatively on the influence that unions may have on management decision‐making. This could also be perceived by employees as an inappropriate response by the union to management substitution strategies. As a consequence, any changes to industrial relations policy or trade union strategies regarding NER should be considered in the light of these findings.

What determined employer voice choice in Britain in the 20th century? A critique of the ‘Sound of Silence’ model

In this paper I critique and then develop Willman, Bryson and Gomez's (2006) 'Sound of Silence' model of employer voice choice. I argue that the original cost/benefits based model, while potentially very useful, particularly for investigating cross-sectional variation in the incidence of voice, is curiously ill equipped to explain variation in voice arrangements over time. This shortcoming is the result of the failure to state explicitly some of the key determinants of the costs and benefits of employer voice choice, namely union power and political economic organisation. I demonstrate how these variables have influenced the development of voice arrangements in Britain over the course of the last century and argue that as a result of these constraints, employer voice choice is often no choice at all.