New research that examined Glassdoor employee reviews of their employers has found that employee stock ownership plans (also known as ESOPs) lead to improved engagement, participation and wellbeing among workers.
The paper, “Sharing Is Caring: Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Employee WellBeing in U.S. Manufacturing” analyzed almost 200,000 employee reviews on Glassdoor in the U.S. manufacturing industry, which is the second largest group of employers that offer ESOPs, after finance.
The findings show a positive correlation between employees who have stock interest in a company, and their ratings of job satisfaction on Glassdoor—specifically, well-being and workplace culture.