Existential risk

HBR is getting behind the union movement is a sentence I never thought I’d have cause to write. But this piece argues cogently that leaders can benefit from empowered workers, and that fighting labor power is more often than not a loser’s game. I’d like to tattoo this excerpt on a few company’s foreheads: “If companies continue to assume that organized labor destroys value and to reflexively fight all collective-action efforts, as has been happening at Starbucks, Amazon, and elsewhere, they run an enormous—even existential—risk. They may permanently disenchant their workforce and stamp out employees’ investment in their company’s success.” I will also emphasize the reverse: companies that listen to their workers and build environments and systems with them will be much better positioned to retain critical talent and meet their objectives than those that torpedo whatever goodwill they have left. Choose wisely.