A better world, one office at a time

Today's companies need to build a democratic workplace.

from the October 19, 2007 edition

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Democratic workplaces build more peaceful societies. In her recent study of nearly 80 nations, Gretchen Spreitzer, a University of Michigan professor of management and organizations, found that there was significantly less corruption or unrest and more peace in nations where employees have the freedom to make decisions at work and where organizations are managed using a participatory leadership style. Conversely, in countries where employees have to be more compliant in following a manager's decision, there is more unrest. Ms. Spreitzer found that democratically run workplaces not only benefit economically from progressive management practices, but also enhance peace in their community by reducing the feelings of powerlessness at work. Imagine the potential impact of teaching Iraqi business leaders how to run their businesses democratically!

Democratic workplaces are healthier. What about the impact of workplace democracy on employees' physical health? Gallup reports that 62 percent of "engaged" employees in the US believe that being engaged at work has a positive impact on their health, whereas a combined 84 percent of "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" employees feel that not being engaged has a negative impact on their physical health.

Instead of throwing money into wellness programs and on-site gyms, companies could consider increasing employees' opportunities to fully engage at work, potentially lowering their healthcare costs in the process.

Democratic workplaces create more democratic citizens. In Botswana, a nation working hard to build and sustain its political democracy, organizations are expected and encouraged to operate democratically. In 1993, its Ministry of Education decided to transition all secondary schools from an authoritarian to a democratic management structure. The result? According to the International Education Journal, students, administrators, and the country as a whole are benefiting from a more democratic citizenry.

Democratic workplaces honor human rights. Just as living in a free society is a basic human right, so should working in a democratic workplace. I know a British woman in China who founded a small nonprofit organization to teach female migrant workers about self-esteem through improvisational theater. In a nation known for its abuse of human rights, she courageously chooses to operate her organization democratically, teaching a few hundred women at a time about their own humanness and honoring their human rights in the process.

This past spring, my company identified 34 of the world's most outstanding democratic workplaces, organizations that ranged from five to 2,000 employees, with revenues of $1 million to more than $400 million a year. However, we need more democratic organizations if we're going to change the world. So dream up your big idea and go build it – democratically.

Traci Fenton is the founder and CEO of WorldBlu, Inc., a democratic design studio that publishes the annual WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces.

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