Changing Business through Workplace Democracy

The organizations we all work for, and access goods and services through, are the best vehicle for transformational change. Workplaces are where adults spend most of their waking hours and the attitudes and behaviours exhibited there influence our personal lives, opinions and perceptions.

Axiom News believes organizational design is fundamental to a better world, and has devoted a great deal of our news coverage to exploring structures that maximize human potential and organizations.

Through this coverage we were introduced to workplace democracy — a practice in its infancy five years ago, but increasingly relevant to business as a younger generation enters the workforce and workplaces are tasked with being nimble, creative and adaptive in an increasingly complex world.

Around that same time, WorldBlu, a Texas-based organization devoted to building the workplace democracy movement, published its first list of Most Democratic Workplaces, which is now in its fourth year.

This list is providing us with a benchmark to draw several conclusions about the developing movement.

First, workplace democracy knows no boundaries and is becoming a global force. In 2007, only five companies outside the United States were represented on the list. In 2010, it’s grown to 15 with new awardees hailing from India, Malaysia, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Secondly, organizations practising workplace democracy are thriving.

When the first WorldBlu list was announced in 2007, the 34 winners’ total annual sales represented $3 billion.

Four years later, the 2010 list of 44 winners culminate their annual sales at $12 billion despite a worldwide economic recession.

So how does workplace democracy benefit the bottom line?

Axiom News, a WorldBlu four-time winner, is starting a new story series interviewing democratic workplaces to learn how the principles of transparency, decentralization and meaningful work positively impact business, beginning with staff retention and following through to customer relations and the delivery of products and services.

Through this series our aim is to make the business case for workplace democracy, and build the movement by shining a spotlight on the method’s strengths and assets.

We’ll finish up our mini inquiry with an editorial summarizing our thoughts and conclusions.

We look forward to you joining us on this discovery path as we connect the dots between ownership over one’s work and the next breed of innovative companies.