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They're the voice - how workers can be heard when unions are on the…
They're the voice - how workers can be heard when unions are on the same wane
Background
Employee voice
A core characteristic of high performing, innovative workplaces
Antecedent to employee engagement
A core consideration
What happens when there are significant differentials between employee and employer ?
How workers can best be heard
Encapsulated
Employees are involved and participate
Dimensions of employee voice
Procedural dimension
The channel by which voice is expressed
Substantive dimension
The extent to which voice shapes and impacts on workplace outcomes
Channels can be indirect and direct
Indirect
Expresses voice through an intermediary (collective representation), whether union or non-union
Direct voice is linked with positive organisational outcomes
Job satisfaction
A better industrial relations climate (cooperative employment relationship)
Enhanced individual employment outcomes such as trust management and perceived influence by employees over job reward
Employee voice is not a zero-sum game
There are plenty of examples of workplaces that derive positive outcomes from multiple voice channels aka hybrid arrangements
The 'never member problem' is one explanation for the rise in non-union employee representation
The majority of the workforce never having joined unions
How do trade unions fit in with employee ‘voice’?
There is a decline in union membership
To allow unions to redefine their relevance effective provision of unionised voice must remain at the heart of any strategic repositioning
Developments in employee voice
Instructive in driving trade unions’ initiatives and strategies to rebuild voice for workers
There will be a voice gap
There will be many winners of the shift to direct and non-union
representative voice in professional services and managerial occupations
2.The union voice must evolve over time
Unions must focus on positive expressions of voice to improve job design, productivity and performance
Not just focus on dissatisfaction - grievances
Positive expression of union voice example - workplace safety, learning and training
Hybrid voice arrangements must consider other societal agents who express voice for precarious workers such as public servants
They are typically more traditional
There is a legitimacy question
Why voice matters
Regardless of the channel through which their voice is expressed most employees want the opportunity and expect 'a say' in matters that effect them at work
The mere presence of voice channels is not enough
The outcomes of voice must also be effective
Much of the growth in employee voice is informal