The social shaping of the participation of employees in entreprises' environmental work - analysis and possible measures

The paper deals with the shaping of the participation of employees in enterprises' environmental work. The paper is based on two case studies on Danish enterprises, which, as part of the development of their environ-mental work, emphazised employee involvement. The cases show that it is difficult to maintain the participation of employees in environmental work, even in enterprises with an intention to do so. The cases contribute to the identification of those situations, during the shaping of enterprises' environmental work, where choices concerning employee participation are made: 1) The need of management to involve employees in the environ-mental work ; 2) The competence building among employees and local supervisors; and 3) The stabilization of the environmental work into routines and structures. The theoretical approach draws on organizational theory emphasizing the connection between environmental strategies, measures and competence needs, and the shaping of the participation of employees as social processes shaped by the existing culture and the pressure generated by the preventive environmental work.