Corporate Social Responsibility and Governance: The Significance of Worker Voice
This paper will address issues of corporate governance from a societal perspective, seeking a balance between individual and communal goals, and finding alignment among individuals, corporations and society. Time and again, it has been important on a societal level for employees to speak up when they encounter wrong-doing in the work place. On an individual level, research has demonstrated the significance of worker voice for employee well-being. When employees feel unable to exercise voice at work, there are serious negative impacts to psychological and physical well-being. There are a number of serious barriers to speaking up in the workplace, including potentially risking negative employment repercussions, such as termination.
This paper argues that employees’ willingness to exercise voice in the workplace is important for both employee well-being and society. It thus becomes important for employers to adopt practices and governance structures for providing employees a safe place to exercise voice despite the restrictive legal environment in which employees work – for the good of the firm, the employee and society.