Amplifying Worker Voice with Technology and Organizational Incentives

Abstract

Economic development can be driven by large, high-performing firms that provide safe, dignified jobs with living wages. The garment manufacturing industry is a large, economically important sector concentrated in low- and middle-income countries; however, it has been characterized by persistent neglect of workers’ concerns and working conditions. This case study explores whether digital communication platforms, combined with improvements in management, can empower garment factory workers to voice their concerns and have their grievances addressed. We describe a series of randomized experiments testing the effectiveness of different grievance reporting solutions, finding that access to an anonymous complaint service improves worker satisfaction and reduces absenteeism. However, these simple solutions do not adequately address issues around management trust, accountability, and quality. An ongoing experiment explores whether grievance reporting technology, combined with team-based performance incentives for management, can further improve outcomes for workers.

Employee voice on social media — An affordance lens

“…(2022) posit regarding digital media lowering employees’ perceived safety to express challenging voice, we argue that where anonymity is provided, SM could enhance employees’ perceived safety to voice. Anonymity can potentially promote voice that employees may otherwise hesitate to express (e.g., individual issues/challenging concerns or ideas/opinions countering status quo) (Adhvaryu et al., 2022). While employees may not always want to remain anonymous, such as where rewards or recognition for work/suggestions are concerned (Robbins et al., 2020), research demonstrates that anonymity can increase employees’ tendency to report fraudulent behaviour (Johansson & Carey, 2016), which promotes voice culture, especially in regard to challenging voice.…”