Partners at work? : a report to Europe's policy makers and social partners

Coping with change in a global economy dominated by new patterns of competitiveness and employment, technological innovation, political upheaval, social transformation and environmental uncertainty is the primary challenge facing organisations at the beginning of the new millennium. In some cases improved performance is sought through sustained innovation in which employee involvement and a high quality of working life play a key role. This ‘high road' approach contrasts with attempts to remain competitive by means of short-term cost-driven changes (the ‘low road'). The Hi-Res (Defining the High Road of Work Organisation as a Resource for Policy Makers and Social Partners) project sets out to develop the High Road concept as a Resource to support the creation of appropriate responses by policy makers, social partners and others. This report aims to provide an understanding of the high road by analysing the concrete experiences of organisations throughout Europe as they struggle towards change. It is based on an overview of recent research and an analysis of more than 100 case studies from Denmark, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

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