![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2200407223-e1778725028678.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
American workers feel their footing in the economy slipping. The stock market has hit high after high, while workers\u2019 share of national income is at its lowest point in at least 75 years. Add to that an affordability crisis hitting families\u2019 checkbooks and many businesses\u2019 eager push to utilize artificial intelligence, and workers\u2019 sentiments appear well-founded. Our current political polarization leaves few confident that we can agree on a way to offer workers a real stake in the prosperity our country creates.<\/p>\n
Employee ownership offers a promising path forward that is rooted in bipartisan\u00a0ideals and designed to ensure economic prosperity is widely shared. We\u2019ve spent the last six months talking to employee owners across the country at companies with just a few workers to those with several thousand,\u00a0in industries ranging from manufacturing to home care. What employee-owned firms hold in common is that they draw ideas from the wisdom of their workers and share their profits,\u00a0whether a worker is on the factory floor or in an office.<\/p>\n
The workers we spoke with told us that the ownership stake they have at work fosters a sense of commitment and motivation. A machine operator at a Vermont manufacturer who\u2019d been with the company 37 years and was nearing retirement told us: \u201cIf you work for a boss, you feel like you\u2019re making money just for him.\u201d But as part of a company with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, he explained, \u201cyou know you\u2019re making money for your future and for yourself, not just somebody else.\u201d Workers describe workplaces with shared goals and mutual accountability. Everyone knows:\u00a0if everyone contributes their fair share of effort and profits increase it\u2019s the workers who stand to directly benefit.<\/p>\n
An ownership stake makes a real difference in workers\u2019 lives. Workers described how the extra money could help solidify their financial security in the present and help them retire with dignity. For younger workers who feel retirement to be a distant,\u00a0even unrealistic,\u00a0prospect, an ownership stake can open up a world of possibilities. One early-career worker in fleet services at an ESOP-owned tree service contractor put it bluntly: \u201cI\u2019m a millennial, and I didn\u2019t know if I would have the opportunity to retire. But with an ESOP, I do feel like I will \u2014 it gives me that ability to dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Employee owners said time and again they felt like they were part of a family at work. They describe a feeling of agency at employee-owned companies, where ideas between management and the front lines flow freely. Continuous improvement and transparency of the business\u2019s financials are the norm. \u201cBeing a worker-owner means having power in what you\u2019re doing,\u201d one co-owner of a Cincinnati childcare cooperative\u00a0said. \u201cIt empowers you to make decisions, to benefit from your work and\u00a0be someone who has a say in what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Research shows employee-owned firms are more likely to stay open, hold onto their workers, and avoid layoffs than conventionally owned firms. When COVID hit and Web Industries\u2019 aerospace business dropped by 90 percent, they pivoted to medical manufacturing, scaling a Massachusetts plant from 50 to 650 employees and shipping millions of COVID rapid tests. Office workers packaged tests after their shifts and family members helped. Michael Quarrey, a vice president at Web, explained: \u201cWhen it\u2019s your business, when it\u2019s your company at stake, this is what happens. Our business was saved by the fact that we had a great employee ownership culture.\u201d Recent research also shows employee-owned companies\u00a0have an advantage in productivity.<\/p>\n
So why don\u2019t we have more employee ownership? Financing gaps are a major barrier to helping companies convert to employee ownership \u2014 but so is low awareness. While people overwhelmingly support the idea of employee ownership when it is explained to them, it remains a best-kept secret. Employee ownership isn\u2019t integrated into our business support infrastructure or lexicon. Few universities teach it, and advisers, lenders, accountants, and lawyers rarely have expertise in it. And though it can be a powerful economic tool to help retain and grow businesses, it\u2019s rarely been used for that purpose.<\/p>\n
This is beginning to change. Federal legislation championed by both parties\u00a0\u2014 such as the American Ownership and Resilience Act, which\u00a0addresses the financing challenges \u2014 is one of several bills recently introduced. States around the country such as Colorado are also passing legislation to help provide financing,\u00a0and many are creating new state centers focused on outreach and assistance. Almost $1 billion in new private investment also signals growing momentum. Norges Bank Investment Management, the world\u2019s largest sovereign wealth fund, recently stated that \u201cemployee share ownership can create long-term value for companies, shareholders, employees and society.\u201d And large companies such as Walmart are increasingly looking to provide equity ownership to their employees.<\/p>\n
We are at an urgent moment. Many workers and families are falling behind every day we wait. When people feel they have no stake at a place where they spend a good part of their lives, it\u2019s hard to expect them to feel like they have a stake in America. Millions of business owners will retire in the coming decade, creating a once-in-a-generation window for businesses to convert to employee ownership. This massive transition of wealth is a rare chance to rewrite the rules of the economy in a way both parties support. Accelerating employee ownership isn\u2019t just good economic policy and business practice\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s how we begin to recommit ourselves to building an economy and country where people have a real stake in its success.<\/p>\n
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of\u00a0Fortune.<\/p>\n
#Millions #business #owners #retire #sell #employees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
American workers feel their footing in the economy slipping. The stock market has hit high…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[245],"tags":[272,1190,3573,952,6261,183,4909],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7015\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}