{"id":46256,"date":"2021-08-21T20:43:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T00:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=46256"},"modified":"2021-08-25T12:29:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T16:29:08","slug":"cooperative-business-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cooperative Business Model for Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the cooperative business model? How does it help build a better workplace for employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A cooperative business model is a democratic company where the enterprise is collectively owned by all the employees. Employees elect leaders, and share profits and liabilities as a group. The model creates a better workplace because the opinion of everyone counts, which makes employees happier and more engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about how the cooperative business model works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Is the Cooperative Business Model?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as reconnecting with your past and future, healing from depression requires you to reconnect with meaning and purpose in your present: in particular, to reconnect to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fulfilling-work\/\">meaningful work<\/a>. Being forced to work at a job you hate just to pay the bills is a surefire recipe for depression\u2014but when job prospects are limited and rent is due, quitting a soul-sucking job isn\u2019t an option for most people. For that reason, this reconnection isn\u2019t an individual suggestion, since individual action isn\u2019t always possible: Instead, it\u2019s a call to reexamine the way we think about work as a society so that everyone can make a living without becoming depressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to do this is by adopting a cooperative business model like Baltimore Bicycle Works. This bike shop is collectively owned by a group of friends whose mission was to break out of the typical boss-as-dictator business model and find a way to reclaim control of their livelihoods.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a cooperative business model, The actual, day-to-day work of the business isn\u2019t too different from that of a \u201ctraditional\u201d bike shop\u2014mechanics still fix bikes, office workers still handle paperwork. The key difference is that the shop\u2019s co-op model works like any democracy: Employees elect leaders, make decisions, and share profits as a group. <strong>The lack of hierarchy in a cooperative business model means that anyone can propose an idea without worrying about stepping on anyone\u2019s toes, and everyone\u2019s opinion counts.<\/strong> This kind of work model provides reconnections to meaningful work (because everyone has control over their jobs) <em>and <\/em>to positive social status (because everyone\u2019s opinion matters).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting an innovative new business is risky, but the Baltimore Bicycle Works is a success, both financially and as proof that the co-op model creates a more meaningful work experience. <strong>Having a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/an-internal-locus-of-control\/\">sense of control<\/a> over the shop makes all the difference to the employees\u2019&nbsp; mental health.<\/strong> Everyone working in the shop is happier and less anxious overall than in their previous, traditional jobs: They no longer feel like work is something \u201cdone to\u201d them, and they don\u2019t have to worry about their livelihood depending on the whims of whoever\u2019s in charge. The sense of control also restores a balance between effort and reward: Everyone shares in the shop\u2019s profits equally, so everyone is motivated to work hard and make the business succeed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cooperative business model doesn\u2019t just improve employees\u2019 mental health: <strong>The business is more successful overall than similar shops with traditional top-down models of leadership. <\/strong>Nothing is siloed\u2014if one person encounters a problem, the entire team can help solve it instead of letting that person flounder alone. Like any workplace, they have occasional arguments or off days, but overall, the co-op model could be the solution to work-induced misery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the cooperative business model? How does it help build a better workplace for employees? A cooperative business model is a democratic company where the enterprise is collectively owned by all the employees. Employees elect leaders, and share profits and liabilities as a group. The model creates a better workplace because the opinion of everyone counts, which makes employees happier and more engaged. Read more about how the cooperative business model works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,79,14],"tags":[464],"class_list":["post-46256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entrepreneurship","category-management","tag-lost-connections","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Cooperative Business Model for Companies - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the cooperative business model, and how does it help? Discover why giving everyone a voice helps create a better workplace.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Cooperative Business Model for Companies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is the cooperative business model, and how does it help? Discover why giving everyone a voice helps create a better workplace.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-22T00:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-25T16:29:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/company-culture.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"979\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joseph Adebisi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joseph Adebisi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joseph Adebisi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d8daf45671a09e8745a7a9f50a03b2a0\"},\"headline\":\"A Cooperative Business Model for Companies\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-22T00:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-25T16:29:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\"},\"wordCount\":562,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/company-culture.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lost Connections\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Entrepreneurship\",\"Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/\",\"name\":\"A Cooperative Business Model for Companies - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cooperative-business-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/company-culture.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-22T00:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-25T16:29:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is the cooperative business model, and how does it help? 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