Is it Good to Talk? Information Disclosure and Organisational Performance in the UK Incorporating evidence submitted on the DTI discussion paper ‘High Performance Workplaces – Informing and Consulting Employees’

The disclosure of information by management to employees varies significantly between workplaces. The effects of this variance on organizational performance are analysed using WERS98 data. The results show that the impact of information disclosure on organisational performance is more complex than is often assumed in the literature. Overall, there is a significant impact, both direct and indirect, and this varies depending on the level of employee organisational commitment, the type of information disclosed, and the performance outcome involved. On the whole, the positive effects are less in union settings and in situations where unions are strong.