Workers' direct participation at the workplace and job quality in Europe

In this paper we focus on workplace practices aimed at increasing workers' direct voice, and their connection to job quality. After contextualizing historically the various reasons for increasing different types of workers' participation and exploring the muddled role of direct participation in European policy, it reflects on possible indicators for workplace worker involvement (direct and through representatives) and offers a brief review regarding research on the impact of workers' direct participation on job quality in Europe, identifying essentially positive but also some negative outcomes. The interaction of the workers' direct voice with representative participation at the workplace in terms of substitution or complementarity and the mediating role of productive and industrial relations contexts are also reflected upon.