Why So Unhappy? The Effects of Unionization on Job Satisfaction*

Alex Bryson, Lorenzo Cappellari and Claudio Lucifora ()

Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2010, vol. 72, issue 3, 357-380

Abstract: Using linked employer–employee data we investigate the job satisfaction effect of union membership in Britain. We develop a model that simultaneously controls for the determinants of individual membership status and for the selection of employees into occupations according to union coverage. We find a negative association between membership and satisfaction. However, having accounted for selection effects, we find that the negative association is confined to non‐covered employees. This is consistent with ‘voice’ effects, whereby non‐covered members voice dissatisfaction to achieve union goals, and with the possibility that membership increases preferences for collective bargaining, thus lowering members’ satisfaction in non‐covered environments.

Date: 2010
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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2010.00587.x

Related works:
Working Paper: Why so Unhappy? The Effects of Unionisation on Job Satisfaction (2005)
Working Paper: Why So Unhappy? The Effects of Unionisation on Job Satisfaction (2005)
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