Loyalty to Whom? Workplace Participation and the Development of Consent

Heightened worker autonomy and participation characterize emerging workplace relations in the 1990s. Some analysts fear that, while such relations may make the workplace more hospitable for workers, they may also undermine workers' solidarity and unity. We investigate this thesis using a telephone survey of a random sample of employed persons from a Midwestern state. Participation increases rather than decreases worker solidarity and it is a more important factor in this regard than job autonomy. In addition, participation heightens workers' concerns with organizational injustice. These findings contrast sharply with fears that heightened autonomy and participation will undermine workers' autonomous cultures of solidarity and resistance.