French employees aspire less to become “bosses in place of the boss” than to gain freedom. And the “democratization” companies could be the solution. These are the main lessons from the survey carried out by the Bona fidé Institute (1), which explores the expectations of French employees with regard to democracy in business.
76% of employees surveyed consider that the company must be “more democratic”. Among the main criteria for a company qualified as such are: regular consultation of employees on the organization of their work (73%), fair sharing of profits (71%), the election of staff representatives (66 %)…
Or “the company is not a democratic space”, if only because “the bond of subordination” is at the basis of the employee-employer relationship, notes Laurent Berger, former president of the CFDT, the main French union, present during the presentation of the study.
Direct democracy in question
Another highlight: to choose, democracy « direct » exercised through consultations, very much prevails (at 74%) over democracy “representative” through the election of union officials. Collective representation, aimed by a “game of upheaval”would arouse a certain distrust among employees, worries Laurent Berger.
Clara Michielini, director of partnerships for the public initiative “Businesses get involved! », which supports structures wishing to improve their social and environmental impact, delays by recalling the results sometimes “inconclusive” of several experiences of direct democracy. These were able “create frustration” when the proposed measures are not taken up at the end, “like the Citizens’ Climate Convention”.
Right to review the organization of daily work
Respondents would like to exercise a right of review over the organization of their daily work as a priority (space and office layout or teleworking arrangements, for more than 80% of them), rather than over strategic orientations. of their structure. This “autonomy in carrying out one’s own work task” is a crucial question in the eyes of Laurent Berger, who deplores that it remains largely absent from social dialogue today.
But this democratization would be far from complete. According to Clara Michielini, “employee commitment is valued when it is outward-looking” of the company (mentoring, skills sponsorship, etc.), but on the other hand, employees are still little given the freedom to get involved “internally”, “to participate in democracy”. And, in the opinion of the speakers, even if the use of referendums and consultations were to develop, it is not guaranteed that the company would be spared from the more global phenomenon of abstention.
Finally, the study itself points out that a significant minority of employees (34%) do not feel authorized to exercise critical thinking within the company. This still too often catalyzes a “silent discomfort”agrees Clara Michielini, who recalls the link established by the economist Thomas Coutrot (2) between a lack of autonomy and expression at work and populist voting or abstentionism in elections in the city.
(1) For the human resources consulting firm Arthur Hunt. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 980 employees working in a company with more than 10 employees in the private sector.
(2) “The long arm of work”Institute of Economic and Social Research (Ires), 2024.
