Job Quality in Economy for the Common Good Firms in Austria and Germany

The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) pursues an alternative economic model built on values oriented to the common welfare such as human dignity, solidarity, ecological sustainability, social justice, transparency and democratic participation. The principles endorsed by the ECG coincide with those of the social economy as it promotes a system in which the motivation of economic competition is replaced by cooperation so that the collective interest and common good is put above companies’ profits. (High) quality of work plays an important role in the ECG. The main points of its work-related values can be summarised by the willingness to elude discrimination and employment precariousness; the encouragement of information and worker participation; and the promotion of beneficial psychosocial factors at work. However, there is scarce knowledge on the actual labour conditions of workers employed in such type of firms. Thus, in this paper, our goal is to describe the quality of jobs in companies following the Economy for the Common Good in Austria and Germany, the countries where this economic model is most widespread. Using data published in the Common Good Balances reports available on the ECG website1, we extracted data informing about job quality at an organisational level of 59 firms with at least 5 employees in Austria and Germany. Although the breadth and depth of the information collected in the Common Good Balances reports is variable, results suggest a widespread presence of elements of good quality of work: limited use of precarious employment arrangements (yet, thorough information about fixedterm contracts is lacking), provision of training and a decent degree of decisionmaking autonomy. Direct participation practices are more prevailing than representative participation forms.