Exploring the paradox of unionised worker dissatisfaction

David E. Guest · Neil Conway

46 citations0/0 files storedIndustrial Relations Journal

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Labor Movements and Unions Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Legal and Labor Studies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the apparent paradox that while unions exist to promote the interests and well‐being of their members, UK survey evidence consistently shows that union members report lower levels of job satisfaction than non‐union workers. A review and further analysis of the evidence confirms that this difference persists after controlling for other factors such as type of work. If union member dissatisfaction reflects a form of voice, then we might expect to see resulting gains. An analysis of data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey indicates that any gains are modest. Evidence is presented to suggest that although management has become less hostile to trade unions, a degree of anti‐union sentiment remains, sometimes leading to a muffling of the union voice, and this helps to account for some of the union member dissatisfaction.

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References

2002Human Resource Management, Corporate Performance and Employee Wellbeing: Building the Worker into HRM 2010Rethinking Industrial Relations 2001Partnership at Work: Mutuality and the Balance of Advantage 1995Participation, Contingent Pay, Representation and Workplace Performance: Evidence from Great Britain 1999Peering into the Black Hole: The Downside of the New Employment Relations in the UK 2001Updating the Determinants of Firm Performance: Estimation using the 1998 UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey 1995A Re-Examination of the Relationship between Union Membership and Job Satisfaction 1996TRADE UNIONS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

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2006Workplace Bullying, Psychological Perspectives and Industrial Relations: Towards a Contextualized and Interdisciplinary Approach 2004Partnership and voice, with or without trade unions Changing UK management approaches to organisational participation 2011Anticipation, Free-Rider Problems, and Adaptation to Trade Unions: Re-Examining the Curious Case of Dissatisfied Union Members 2009Employee voice: does union membership matter?

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