Betriebliche Mitbestimmung aus Sicht der Beschäftigten - Ergebnisse einer Mitarbeiterbefragung bei Volkswagen

The article presents basic findings of a recent survey among employees at Volkswagen in Germany. More particularly, it examines employees' expectations of the current and future performance and activities of the works council. The data reveal that co-determination is widely accepted and backed up by almost all participants of the survey. The majority of workers articulates high expectations of their representatives and even expects an expansion of co-determination activities in both traditional, as well as new areas of interaction. Strategically, works councils operate within potentially conflicting priorities of workers/employees, management and trade unions. The results show that the works council at Volkswagen is mostly recognized for its protective and controlling functions and is expected to be a fair mediator between the three aforementioned interest groups. Nevertheless, most surveyed persons expect the works council to be a strong representation of their own interests. As a consequence, too much proximity to the management body and/or to the trade union would be perceived negatively by a majority. Regarding communication, employees would like to have face-to-face meetings with their representatives far more frequently.