Informal labour relations in contemporary Russian organizations

This paper aims to address issues related to the informal relationships in modern Russian organizations, namely the extent of these relationships, the conditions of their existence and their connection with formal relations. The paper contains a discussion about the relevant theoretical issues and a presentation of empirical research conducted by the authors through a survey of the staff of a number of businesses based in major cities of the Russian Federation. The study also includes the analysis of the expert survey of top managers and an assessment of the role of the informal component in the social and labour cooperation of workers and employers in modern Russian organizations. The authors concluded that with the further advancement of Russia towards the establishment of an effective market economy, there is a general trend towards a reduction in the role of personal relationships in social and labour relations, although a complete rejection of protectionism in this area is not possible because of certain peculiarities of the Russian mentality. The paper studies a unique set of empirical data, and the results of the study will enable more effective management of informal relations in modern organizations.