Involvement and influence icon Involvement and influence

Involves including staff in discussions about how their work is done and how important organizational decisions are made.

“Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.” – Stephen Covey

Overview

What is involvement and influence?

Involvement and influence is present in a work environment where workers are included in discussions about how their work is done and how important decisions are made. Opportunities for involvement can relate to a workers’ specific job, the activities of a team or department or issues involving the organization as a whole.

An organization with good involvement and influence would be able to state that:

  • Workers are able to talk to their immediate supervisors about how their work is done.
  • Workers have some control over how they organize their work.
  • Workers’ opinions and suggestions are considered with respect to work.
  • Workers are informed of important changes that can impact how their work is done.
  • The organization encourages input from all workers on important decisions related to their work.

When workers feel they have meaningful input into their work, they are more likely to be engaged, have higher morale and take pride in their organization. This, in turn, increases their willingness to make extra effort when required. Job involvement is thus associated with increased psychological well-being, enhanced innovation and organizational commitment.

If workers do not believe they have a voice, they are likely to feel a lack of concern or experience helplessness. Non-involvement is connected with distrust and distress, greater turnover and burnout.

FAQs

  • Foster a culture where all staff have some level of responsibility, autonomy and accountability. Avoid micromanagement.
  • Combine top-down and bottom-up approaches to work-related decisions, where leaders and workers are able to provide input and feedback. Ensure formal and informal approaches for obtaining input and feedback on how to make improvements to work (e.g. via suggestion boxes or opinion surveys).
  • If appropriate, provide staff with control over job design, how their work tasks are organized and how responsibilities evolve.

  • Provide training to help staff maintain a sense of control over work. Providing support on priority-setting and time management can be very useful, given that these are not skills that are typically otherwise formally taught.
  • Provide coaching, training and mentorship in effective communication skills, including interpersonal problem-solving and conflict management skills.
  • If appropriate, provide training and supports that allow teams to operate independently (e.g. self-directed work teams).

  • When making changes in the workplace, minimize the impact by communicating effectively, and provide reasons for decisions.
  • Particularly during times of change, encourage worker participation and involvement.
  • Encourage discussions between managers and direct reports about how work is done and how it could be improved.
  • Provide timely responses to staff suggestions regarding how work could be improved or enhanced.

  • Maintain current and accurate written job descriptions that specify roles and responsibilities.
  • Create employment agreements and contracts that explicitly value input into how work is conducted.
  • Ensure that all staff have an identified contact person (e.g. supervisor, office manager, union steward) for issues pertaining to how their work is done.

Action

Next steps: Encouraging involvement and influence in the workplace

A work environment where employees are included in discussions about how their work is done and how important decisions are made.

  • enhanced performance and productivity
  • greater employee motivation and job satisfaction
  • employees take an active role in addressing challenges at work
  • positive employee/labour relations

  • Do issues related to involvement and influence present a greater risk to particular groups of employees (e.g. new employees, certain jobs, shift workers, etc.)?
  • What are the strengths in your workplace in terms of involvement and influence (e.g. what do you do well and what should you continue doing)?
  • What could your workplace do to improve in this area (e.g. what could you do more of and what could you do less of)?
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Involvement and Influence is psychosocial factor 8 from CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 – Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Retrieved from: https://www.csagroup.org/article/cancsa-z1003-13-bnq-9700-803-2013-r2018/. See also Guarding Minds at Work (Samra et al.): Retrieved from https://www.guardingmindsatwork.ca/resources.