New trajectories in worker voice : integrating and applying contemporary challenges in the organization of work

This paper aims to encourage a debate on the proposed transactive relationship between voice and contemporary social, economic and technological (SET) developments. Specifically, we propose that SET developments change how work is approached, organized and designed, and that these changes challenge employee rights, roles and responsibilities. How employees deal with these challenges affects their well-being and health, and whether organizations and societies can develop sustainably. While voice is a way for employees to have a say in these developments, we argue that SET changes can be times at which voice is threatened. Moreover, we propose that SET changes urge us to question and reshape our understanding of voice. We propose that a functional conceptualization of voice provides opportunities to integrate existing approaches which are often scattered across disciplines, and is inclusive of new opportunities and constraints that come with SET developments. Using examples of two meta-trends, we illustrate how SET changes challenge traditional conceptualizations of voice and identify ‘new trajectories’ to expand more inclusive forms of voice and more useful research paradigms. These meta-trends are digitalization (including new business models and employment forms, alternative/flexible work arrangements, technology-mediated communication) and diversification (including internationalization and marginalized/minority groups).