Works Council Membership and Career Opportunities

Abstract

This article focuses on the (often suggested negative) effect on career develop ment of participation in Works Councils. The reason for studying this relation is that a negative influence of Works Council membership on careers could reduce the willingness to participate in Works Councils. The article reports on an empiri cal study whose most important findings are, that there is indeed a difference between careers of the entire working population and those of Works Councils members. These differences, however, can be explained by the same factors that are known from research on career patterns for the entire working population. Yet 24 percent of the respondents consider the influence of participation as being negative; 12 percent see a positive influence. However, to some extent, these are organizational, rather than individual results. The consequences of our findings for future research and policies are discussed.