Control of the Work Process: The Workers' Viewpoint

Abstract

Recent studies of job satisfaction, working conditions, and changes in the content of work indicate that problems of low productivity and dissatisfaction may be related to changes in the organization of work which have reduced the amount of autonomy and control which workers have over the labor process. At the same time, elements in the labor movement, which has traditionally focused almost exclusively on obtaining higher wages and greater benefits for union members, now seem to be directing their attention to issues of workplace democracy and worker control over the production process and company policies. The research reported here investigates the determinants of worker autonomy and of workers' desire for increased worker control over the workplace. This article describes what are viewed as the main hypotheses suggested by earlier research and reports the findings and new hypotheses derived from a preliminary analysis of data from the ISR National 1977 Quality of Employment Survey and pilot in-depth interviews with sixteen Baltimore workers.