Economy for the Common Good: job quality and health

The Economy for the Common Good is an Austrian-born economic model promoting a system based on cooperation and to businesses contribution to society. Thus, it puts the collective interest and common good above some companies profits. From a working and employment conditions perspective, the quality of work plays an important role in this model. Its set of work-related values strive for (high) job quality, namely striving for jobs with features promoting favourable effects on workers wellbeing. Indeed, research shows that the work- related principles taken as point of departure for the Economy for the Common Good model have tended to prove beneficial for workers health and job satisfaction. This is the case, for instance, for the following principles: just distribution of labour and income, worker participation, health and safety at work, flexible work hours and non-discrimination practices, among others. However, pretty little is known about the actual labour conditions of workers employed in such type of firms and its effects on workers health and wellbeing. Hence, the main research question that this project addresses is to what extent there are differences between Economy for the Common Good firms and regular firms in terms of job quality, health outcomes and job satisfaction. By gathering data through a survey, the quality of jobs in companies following the Economy for the Common Good in Austria and Germany will be explored, as well as its association with workers health and job satisfaction. Results will be compared to those of workers in Austria and Germany employed in regular companies with similar firms in terms of size and economic branch following the data in the 6th wave of the European Working Conditions Survey. Along with survey data analysis, the project will also rely on expert interviews. The RECkON project will generate evidence on a rising alternative economic model, and it will provide cardinal knowledge to understand job quality characteritsics in regular and Economy for the Common Good firms, identify vulnerable groups as well as to analyse underlying mechanims and pathways between job quality and health. As such, it aims to provide findings for evidence-based recommendations opening up avenues for the advancement of better jobs.

This project about firms following the principles of the Economy for the Common Good in Austria and Germany has addressed two main questions: what are the working and employment conditions like in these firms compared to those of the general working population in Austria and Germany? And, what kind of results on health and job satisfaction do workers in these firms have, also in comparison to the general working population? Regarding the first research question, our analysis of work-related characteristics revealed good elements of job quality regarding workers possibilities to determine their working schedule and tasks, training, and (representative) participation while we observed less positive results concerning employment conditions, especially in relation to the difference between the highest and the lowest salary within the organisations. Our analysis on job satisfaction and workers wellbeing showed that there are no differences between workers in businesses adopting the Economy for the Common Good and the general working population in Germany and Austria neither regarding satisfaction with working conditions nor regarding absenteeism, presenteeism, mental health or self-rated health. The economic system that the Economy for the Common Good is promoting can contribute to boosting job quality along with greater employment stability, which in turn can have an impact on workers health. This project identified some positive work-related characteristics in the firms currently adhered to the Economy for the Common Good model but has not found any (short-term) repercussions on the well-being of workers at the present.