New book examines the theory and history of employee voice

A new handbook edited by Professor Tony Dundon of the Work, Society & Governance research cluster, and colleagues Adrian Wilkinson (Griffith University, Australia), Jimmy Donaghey (University of Warwick, UK), and Richard B. Freeman (Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research, US) examines the theory and history of employee voice and what voice means to various actors, including employers, middle managers, employees, unions and policy-makers. The term ’employee voice’ refers to the ways and means through which employees can attempt to have a say and influence organizational issues that affect their work and the interests of managers and owners.  The authors observe how these actors engage in various voice processes, such as collective bargaining, grievance procedures, task-based voice, partnership and mutual gains. The efforts that have been made to date to evaluate voice across and between firms are then assessed, before the contributors go on to open up the debate on potential new areas for voice research, with a focus on voice and its relationship to organizational inclusion and exclusion.

The Handbook of Research on Employee Voice is due June 2014.  See Publisher’s website for further details.