May 15, 2019

New Research from Rutgers: In-Depth Interviews with Employee-Owners

Executive Director

A Rutgers University-led team of researchers conducted a qualitative study of the asset-building impacts of employee ownership. The team conducted 195 interviews with employee-owners at 21 ESOP companies from June 2015 through August 2018. Among this group, 141 shared their income information, and 92 of them are low-to-moderate-income.

The report, Building the Assets of Low and Moderate Income Workers and their Families: The Role of Employee Ownership, was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and provides preliminary findings related to the core research question, "Can ESOPs contribute to building the assets of low- and moderate-income employees, and if so, how?"

The rich interview data provides a wealth of examples in employees' own words of the impact of ESOPs in their daily lives, while the report details the mechanisms by which ESOPs help build financial assets. This work is a valuable and enriching addition to quantitative studies such as ours (see www.OwnershipEconomy.org and S Corporation ESOPs and Retirement Security) in giving voice to the often voiceless and broadening the conversation about the benefits of employee ownership.

Here are some of the voices from the report:

  • "It [the ESOP] changed my life. And, it's a really big help because sometimes we, the employees, can't save for retirement or save money in general because they can't afford to." ("Marta," in her 50s, divorced with adult children, working as a heavy equipment operator.)
  • "When I started here I didn't have much at all. I guess you can call it, I was a poor man by today's standards. I think I'm pretty well off right now, considering. I've come a long way. And ESOP has done good by me." ("Joe," an African-American man with a high school diploma and three young children. He has been at the company for 11 years, earns $25 per hour, and has an ESOP account valued at $180,000 and $40,000 in his 401(k).)
  • "If there's another quality job that opens up later on, which they're thinking that there should be because we're growing so fast here, then I can go for it and have a good chance of getting it. . . They arranged for the class for us. They're paying for it." ("Loretta," a 20-year employee.)
  • "Things changed when the company became employee-owned. There is more of a sense of community....I am much more secure than my family was when I was growing up, and I have tried to communicate to my kids the importance of finding security." ("Claire," a divorced hospital aide with children in her early 40s.)