Employees at more and more companies are voting on more and more issues.  For example, employees at InContext Solutions recently voted on whether to play music in office common areas.   Employees at Whole Foods Market and at MediaMath Inc. vote quite often on issues.  Research suggests that giving employees a voice/vote on even small issues such as holiday parties helps to spark loyalty to the company. InContext employees recently voted on whether to have cubicles or open tables and even on which brews to keep in the company keg.  MediaMath employees recently voted on which new headquarters location they prefer to relocate.  Whole Foods employees vote on whether to keep new employees beyond a trial period of up to 90 days.  Menlo Innovations employees vote on job applicants after observing how candidates work during a trial period.  1Sale.com employees recently voted to do away with free lunches in favor of lower health-insurance premiums.  Employees Social Tables Inc. employees recently voted on the company’s core values, as well as the company’s conference-room themes and the company theme song played at corporate events.  The strategic decision at hand for many companies increasingly is the extent to allow or encourage employee voting on numerous large and small issues that affect workplace productivity and morale.

Source:; Based on Rachel Silverman, “Workplace Democracy Catches On,” Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2016, B5.