Celebrating Employee Ownership

October was Employee Ownership month!

In Brief: As we near the end of October, let’s take a look back at the origins and celebrations for Employee Ownership month!

The History: The celebration first began as a week long event. In 1982, a young and small National Center for Employee Ownership was looking for a way to both promote and celebrate forms of shared ownership. News of the first celebration wasn’t shared on social media, by email, or even phone call. Instead, the NCEO sent handmade cards by mail. In the following years, a poster contest as well as the involvement of the ESOP Association led to increased coverage and celebration of the holiday. Before long, it was Employee Ownership Month and many employee owned companies created their own celebrations. 

The Celebrations: This year, many state Centers for Employee Ownership held webinars celebrating and educating on employee ownership. In addition, the ESOP Association continues to hold their annual poster contest as well as provide resources and information across their platforms in celebration of the month. At the local level, many firms have held individual celebrations either with their employees or the wider community. 

Go Deeper: Check out the National Center for Employee Ownership’s article on the history of the month!

Image Credit: Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash