The ‘economy for the common good’, job quality and workers’ well-being in Austria and Germany

Abstract

The Economy for the Common Good movement proposes an alternative economic model, which promises to offset many of the detrimental effects of the contemporary labour market. Yet, despite its increasing economic and social relevance in Europe, there is little research on Economy for the Common Good firms and the quality of the jobs they offer their employees. We thus, first, introduce the ideas of this movement and then present findings on workplace characteristics and the well-being of workers. Our results are based on our own survey of Economy for the Common Good employees from 2018 and on the sixth wave of the European Working Conditions Survey. Our analyses offer mixed support for the claims of the Economy for the Common Good – while Economy for the Common Good workers can be found in high-quality work settings, their absenteeism and presenteeism, as well as indicators of control, time pressure, direct participation and financial participation do not differ from other workers when controlled in a propensity score matching approach. Based on our findings and feedback from Economy for the Common Good representatives, we conclude that the introduction of Economy for the Common Good ideas might be too recent to see any positive effects, but also that Economy for the Common Good companies should place more focus on their employees’ well-being. JEL codes: P40, P52, J81, I14