Understanding the Democratic Workplace: The Socialization and Transformation of the Worker Co-Operative Member

Worker co-operatives, workplaces owned and managed by the workers themselves, offer an alternative to conventional labour-union focused and politically envisioned workplace democracy. However, because worker co-operatives are less common and unfamiliar to many, new members require a period of adjustments as they come to understand and embrace their dual roles as both co-workers and co-owners. Workers’ new co-operative roles included both receiving more benefits and empowerment as co-owners, but also the demand of greater responsibility as well. While all jobs have some level of organizational socialization, this study found that much more deliberate and formal socialization occurred at the worker co-operatives. This more intensive organizational socialization contributed to higher levels of loyalty to the business: the members of the worker co-operative spoke of loyalty to their organizations much more than their counterparts in conventional businesses. When those employees in conventional businesses did speak of loyalty, it was to their industry as a whole or to co-workers, not to the organization. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative data collected over 20 years at four matched sets of cooperatives and conventional businesses, this paper expands current understandings of loyalty by considering how deliberate organizational socialization in worker co-operatives can impact members’ loyalty.