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A powerful set of values are connecting winners from this year's WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces.

Axiom News has been interviewing companies highlighted for the annual award and have discovered that while workplace democracy is as diverse as the organizations that practise it, the shared values are the glue that binds.

Some values that popped up through our coverage include:

• Empowerment
• Transparency
• Respect
• Meaningful work
• Work-life balance
• Fun and happiness

Combined, these values offer a compelling alternative to the command-and-control model — one we think a majority of people would choose if given the choice. In fact, many WorldBlu winners have told us that being democratic has helped recruit and retain top talent.

We've also learned that many democratic workplaces didn't realize they were practising workplace democracy until discovering WorldBlu.

That makes us believe there are a great deal of other associations and organizations that embody similar values that when aggregated could strengthen the growing worldwide movement.

Some that immediately come to mind are co-operatives, employee-owned companies and emerging movements like holacracy.

But there are more.

We'd like to see this movement continue to grow by encouraging like-minded businesses to join a diverse and innovative community. If you're wondering whether you work in a democratic organization consider questions like; are employees informed of the financial health, strategy and agenda of the organization? Do employees have choice over how or when they get their work done? Are responsibilities clear? Is everyone treated with fairness and dignity? Is communication open?

By embracing a broad range of democratic businesses we can help promote a powerful set of values that contribute to better organizations, citizens and communities.