Participatory workplace activities, employee-level outcomes and the mediating role of work intensification

Purpose – The present study aims to explore the impacts of participative decision-making and information-sharing activities, two relevant constituents of the high performance work practices framework, on employee attitudes and well-being. Design/methodology/approach – The study was undertaken using data from the 2009 National Centre for Partnership and Performance survey on employees’ attitudes and expectations of the workplace. Structural equation modelling was used to test the direct effects of participative decision-making and information sharing on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job strain, and simultaneously, the mediating role of work intensification in these relationships was examined. Findings – Participative decision-making activities produced overall favourable effects on employee attitudes and well-being; these effects may be explained by decreases in work intensification. The impacts of information sharing on employee attitudes and well-being were generally unfavourable and fully mediated by increases in work intensification. Originality/value – This study informs two theoretical perspectives on employee-level impacts of HPWP: the mutual gains and the critical perspectives of HPWP, and extends knowledge on the employee-level influences of participatory workplace practices during a period of severe economic recession in the Republic of Ireland.