Why Supervisors Resist Employee Involvement

In 1941 many of the nation’s factory supervisors, unhappy with the changing climate in the workplace, banded together to create a union, the Foreman’s Association of America. Today, as the climate in the workplace is again very much in flux, resistance by supervisors is once more making itself felt. In general, when managers initiated employee involvement programs, they expected to face some resistance-but to face it primarily from workers and their unions. Surprisingly, the real footdragging is coming from a different quarter: first-line supervisors. Indeed, as one manager noted: “We were so worried that the employees would not accept employee involvement that we spent all our time trying to convince them of…