Worker Interest in Management Issues

The following appeared in the editorial section of a corporate newsletter:

“The common notion that workers are generally apathetic about management issues is false, or at least outdated: a recently published survey indicates that 79 percent of the nearly 1,200 workers who responded to survey questionnaires expressed a high level of interest in the topics of corporate restructuring and redesign of benefits programs.”

Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.

The writer reasons that since a majority of workers showed interests in certain management issues, it can be deduced that they are not apathetic about them. On the surface the reasoning looks just fine but there are certain flaws if one looks closely.

The key thing is that it seems that the workers are only interested in issues that concern them in particular like benefits programs and corporate restructuring. This cannot be seen as an evidence of their interest in management issues. At best it can be seen as an interest in their own welfare and concern about their own future. It has nothing to do with management issues. If a survey shows that the majority of workers show a healthy interest in knowing what decisions the management is taking in order to achieve the company's vision, its long term strategies and how it is being implemented; I can buy the argument that they are indeed taking interest in management issues. The issues mentioned by writer are the ones that can affect the life of the workers. True they are management issues too but the interest of workers does not come out from an interest in management. They just wish to understand the core things that affect them. At best it can be said that the workers are more aware and well-informed about management issues that concern them than they were before. 

This can be explained with a simple example. A lot of people in any country are generally interested in politics and follow it keenly. A lot of them may understand it, follow it and even study it. However that does not mean that they have any serious interest in running the country or statecraft. The intention can be simply knowing if they are being taken care of or not by the state. It may even be an intention to stay aware so as to insulate themselves from any possible bad event or take advantage of any good event. However it cannot be equated with the desire to rule the country or understand the nuances of statecraft. Similarly the interest of workers in management issues that affect them in particular cannot be equated with an interest in management issues in general. The reasoning is deceptively reassuring but is not totally right.