This study is a concise, simplified adaptation of a PhD thesis on social law defended by Mathilde Frapart at the University of Strasbourg in September 2016, and entitled “La protection négociée des droits sociaux fondamentaux des travailleurs : contribution à l’étude des accords d’entreprise transnationaux”.

Consensus is growing that business performance can be increased by improving employees’ quality of work life (QWL) through granting them greater autonomy in their work (Bourdu, Péretié and Richer, 2016a). However, this management assumption still lacks statistical proof.

The French agreement of 11 January 2013, established between social partners and relating to protecting employment, institutes worker representation on boards of directors and supervisory boards in companies employing over 10,000 people worldwide or over 5,000 in France. Companies with more than twelve directors must involve two worker representatives, otherwise one.