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Worker Satisfaction and Worker Representation: The Jury Is Still Out

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  • John T. Addison
  • Paulino Teixeira

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between worker job satisfaction and workplace representation, to include works councils as well as local union agencies. The paper marks a clear shift away from the traditional focus on union membership per se because its sample of EU nations have industrial relations systems that diverge markedly from those of Anglophone countries. Our dataset comprises two waves of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Pooled cross-section data indicate that workers in establishments with workplace representation have less job satisfaction than their counterparts in plants without formal representation. We proceed to upgrade these findings of conditional correlation by constructing a pseudo-panel with cohort fixed effects to take account of unobserved worker heterogeneity. Causality issues are directly tackled using an endogenous treatment effects model to address the possible endogeneity of worker representation. A persistence of our central finding leads us to conclude that, despite the recent evidence of a turnaround in the association between job satisfaction and unionism, it would be premature to conclude that this result can be generalized to continental European nations.

Suggested Citation

  • John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira, 2022. "Worker Satisfaction and Worker Representation: The Jury Is Still Out," CESifo Working Paper Series 10167, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10167
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2004. "Does Union Membership Really Reduce Job Satisfaction?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(3), pages 439-459, September.
    2. Freeman, Richard B, 1978. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 135-141, May.
    3. Artz, Benjamin & Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Unions increase job satisfaction in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 173-188.
    4. Goerke, Laszlo & Huang, Yue, 2022. "Job satisfaction and trade union membership in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Not so dissatisfied after all? The impact of union coverage on job satisfaction," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 898-919.
    6. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino, 2019. "Strikes, employee workplace representation, unionism, and industrial relations quality in European establishments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 109-133.
    7. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.
    8. Patrice Laroche, 2015. "Union Membership and Job Satisfaction: Initial Evidence from French Linked Employer-Employee Data," Post-Print hal-03048619, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job satisfaction; workplace representation; European Working Conditions Survey; sorting; exit-voice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence

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