Human Resource Management, Employee Participation and European Works Councils: The Case of Pharmaceutical Industry in Greece

Abstract

Employee participation is a broad notion that encompasses sets of practices that enable employees to participate in the decision-making process on issues affecting them leading to a committed workforce. According to the 2009/38/EC Directive, a European Workers’ Council (EWC) is established in all undertakings and all community-scale groups of undertakings for the purpose of informing and consulting employees. This study investigates the impact of employee participation on employees and organizations and more specifically the potential benefits and the added value of participation for employees and organizations, the potential costs and threats of employee participation and the added value of EWCs in multinational subsidiaries in the pharmaceutical industry in Greece. The data gathering was carried out through in-depth semi-structured interviews with management, HR executives, trade union representatives and EWC representatives using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the state-of-the-art literature review. Organizations participating in the study are subsidiaries of multinational companies with an active European Works Council in the pharmaceutical industry in Greece. Findings suggest that there are potential benefits of employee participation practices for the employees and added value for the pharmaceutical companies and provide a useful perspective for managers and researchers in the field of labor relations and human resource management.

The impact of firm based organizational citizenship behavior on continuance and normative commitment among pharmaceutical executives: An SEM approach

“…The human and social relations in the workplace have been the subject of empirical studies aimed at identifying best practices and strategies to enhance, engage, develop, motivate, and retain a productive workforce (Ahmad et al, 2020;Inayat & Khan, 2021;. However, in the pharmaceutical marketing industry, challenges associated with ensuring work satisfaction, commitment to organizational objectives, poor remuneration, inadequate work tools, employer-employer conflict, work climate, and turnover rates are still ongoing concerns (Babapour et al, 2018;Oamen & Omorenuwa, 2021;Triantafillidou & Koutroukis, 2022). Hence, this scenario situates the social exchange theory as a basis to further our understanding of the relevance of exploring employee and management relations within the context of organizational behaviors-organizational commitment and citizenship.…”

Manager’s perspective on workers’ participation in management: a scenario-based study on Indian organizations

“…It could involve trade union involvement through joint consultative committees and collective bargaining, worker cooperatives or legislation that allows employee representatives to collaborate with businesses. On the other hand, it could include many methods employers use to inform employees, allow them to participate in problem-solving groups or use their skills and discretion at work through job enrichment programs (Wilkinson et al , 2010; Triantafillidou and Koutroukis, 2022).…”