The Labour Process under Worker Control: Organisational Tensions in Worker Cooperatives

A new paper by IMEG member Nicos Moushouttas published in Work, Employment and Society explores the organisational dynamics and production processes of worker cooperatives – organisations that are worker owned and controlled – to analyse their potential as non-exploitative spaces of production within the capitalist economy.

Drawing on qualitative data collected from five worker cooperatives in the United Kingdom, the paper argues that there are two major organisational tensions experienced by worker-members: a) the tension between democratic governing and surplus production, and b) the tension between empowerment and (self) discipline.

These tensions are theorised as stemming from the broader contradictions in the capitalist relations of production and as such they are inevitable. However, their intensity and form vary depending on the cooperative’s structure, division of labour, and nature of operations.

Given this, worker-members are often able to collectively address and alleviate some of the pressures of production within capitalism through experimentation and organisational adaptation.

Overall, the paper illustrates the permeating effects of the contradictory relations of capitalist production in alternative organisations but also indicates how worker ownership and control can help mitigate these effects while providing democratic and non-exploitative workplaces.

Reference

Moushouttas, N. (2026). The Labour Process under Worker Control: Organisational Tensions in Worker Cooperatives. Work, Employment and Society. 1-23.

Download the open access article at https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170251412800