LOYALTY TO WHOM - WORKPLACE PARTICIPATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSENT

Heightened worker autonomy and participation characterize emerging wor kplace relations in the 1990s. Some analysts fear that, while such rel ations may make the workplace more hospitable for workers, they may al so undermine workers' solidarity and unity. We investigate this thesis using a telephone survey of a random sample of employed persons from a Midwestern state. Participation increases rather than decreases work er solidarity and it is a more important factor in this regard than jo b autonomy. In addition, participation heightens workers' concerns wit h organizational injustice. These findings contrast sharply with fears that heightened autonomy and participation will undermine workers' au tonomous cultures of solidarity and resistance.