12.4 Factors Shaping Voice at the
Workplace
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Much of the literature on voice, particularly on direct employee involvement,
assumes it is part of a high-commitment culture. Accordingly, this emphasizes
how voice can be developed to ensure it contributes to performance outcomes,
either directly or through mediating factors such as satisfaction or commitment.
However, we have already noted voice is absent from some workplaces and that not
all employers believe it is a key component of HRM. Whilst they might be able to
see value investing in sophisticated selection processes or employment law training
because this can be seen directly to add value (through better-quality staV)or
reduce costs (through avoidance of tribunals), the impact of voice on bottom-line
performance is less clear. Similarly, given the wide range of circumstances in which
they operate, employers have some degree of choice about whether or not to
implement voice systems; indeed, some do all they can to prevent workers from
having any independent voice at work.
Responding to the challenge set by Benson and Lawler ( 2003 ) that little is known
about why organizations adopt voice systems, Table 12. 2 sets out the major factors
at a societal, organizational, and workplace level that shape voice. The table
presents two polar positions, one articulating factors that facilitate and promote
voice whilst the other outlines factors that discourage and impede voice. These are
labeled ‘promoting voice’ and ‘impeding voice’ respectively. These factors are not
assumed to be deterministic as, even in a highly regulated system, managers retain
someXexibility in how they implement HRM. It is also acknowledged that forces
may operate in diVerent directions, with some pointing towards the adoption of
voice and others not. Although Table 12. 2 inevitably oversimpliWes the situation, it
does oVer points of comparison. Furthermore, it recognizes there areWner shades
of gradation between the two extremes, but space does not permit a full discussion
of these.
- 1 Policy Framework and Financial System
Debates continue about whether employment systems in diVerent countries are
converging given the degree to which multinational companies operate on a global
basis (see, for example, Katz and Darbyshire 2000 ; Quintanilla and Ferner 2003 ).
However, it is broadly acknowledged that some countries—for example, much of
Europe other than the UK and Ireland—tend towards a coordinated market
economy that is governed by the principles of stakeholder interests. In this situation,
voice is likely to be promoted by the presence of national institutions and
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