Morning Star Company is California's largest tomato grower and the world's biggest producer of canned tomatoes. The company has more than 500 permanent employees and take on 4,000 seasonal workers four months a year, with a turnover of close to $700 million. 

One particular aspect of Morning Star Company makes it stand out in the world of big business: it does not have managers, job titles or a structural hierarchy. In other words, there's no expectation that upper management will fix the problems. And there's no one above or below whom you dare not challenge or seek help from.

The employees follow two basic company principles: all interactions are entered into voluntarily and with no use of force; you work in the sorting department because it's where you want to work, not because you have been assigned the task.

Everyone must live up to the commitments they make with each other. This means, for example, that if you propose to take responsibility for replacing the center roller on the sorting belt, you measure up to the challenge.

To make this corporate structure work, Morning Star Company has defined a strong purpose for the entire company, for each department, and each employee. The employees have, of course, helped define their own reasons for going to work and participated in outlining a collective purpose for the team. The logic behind this is that if the company includes you and your values, you will be far more likely to engage with the company.

The Glassdoor online recruitment platform allows former employees to post company reviews, and there you can witness the current state of Morning Star Company from an employee's perspective. One example is enlightening: "I’ve been with Morning Star full time for more than ten years. Pros: bold culture with self-management. Good salary. Disadvantages: none at present."

Kantar Gallup periodically conducts a survey, "State of the Global Workplace", which covers approximately 150 countries, Denmark included. The most recent 2017 study found that 73 percent of Danish employees from all organisational layers and all professional groups go to work uninvolved. Every day.

It's dismaying to see that so many choose to accept this skewed approach to their work lives – from a business and societal perspective, and certainly from an existential angle. Worth mentioning is that the same survey from 2013 reported that "only" 69 percent of Danes went to work with little to no enthusiasm, so conditions have not grown better over time.

The Lebanese philosopher Khalil Gibran had a very different vision of work in his book "The Prophet" from 1923: "It is through your work that your love becomes visible," he wrote. I use this approach to work daily as I relate to my customers and employees.

We have defined the purpose of our company, and our employees know why they're with us. Combined, this gives us a strong, common starting point, but only when I'm at my best and my confidence is at its peak. When I lose heart, I resort to risk management, which is static and lacking vision. Then I start telling others what to do and miss the opportunity to utilise other people's amazing skills and resources, while undermining their foundation for achieving job satisfaction.

On Tuesday, I'm having dinner with my business partner, Oliver, and there I commit to finding new structures to ensure that neither he nor I stand in the way. It'll be love in tomato sauce!

Words by Erik Algreen, executive coach & entrepreneur

Morning Star Company is California's largest tomato grower and the world's biggest producer of canned tomatoes. The company has more than 500 permanent employees and take on 4,000 seasonal workers four months a year, with a turnover of close to $700 million. 

One particular aspect of Morning Star Company makes it stand out in the world of big business: it does not have managers, job titles or a structural hierarchy. In other words, there's no expectation that upper management will fix the problems. And there's no one above or below whom you dare not challenge or seek help from.

The employees follow two basic company principles: all interactions are entered into voluntarily and with no use of force; you work in the sorting department because it's where you want to work, not because you have been assigned the task.

Everyone must live up to the commitments they make with each other. This means, for example, that if you propose to take responsibility for replacing the center roller on the sorting belt, you measure up to the challenge.

To make this corporate structure work, Morning Star Company has defined a strong purpose for the entire company, for each department, and each employee. The employees have, of course, helped define their own reasons for going to work and participated in outlining a collective purpose for the team. The logic behind this is that if the company includes you and your values, you will be far more likely to engage with the company.

The Glassdoor online recruitment platform allows former employees to post company reviews, and there you can witness the current state of Morning Star Company from an employee's perspective. One example is enlightening: "I’ve been with Morning Star full time for more than ten years. Pros: bold culture with self-management. Good salary. Disadvantages: none at present."

"When I lose heart, I resort to risk management, which is static and lacking vision. Then I start telling others what to do and miss the opportunity to utilise other people's amazing skills and resources, while undermining their foundation for achieving job satisfaction".

Kantar Gallup periodically conducts a survey, "State of the Global Workplace", which covers approximately 150 countries, Denmark included. The most recent 2017 study found that 73 percent of Danish employees from all organisational layers and all professional groups go to work uninvolved. Every day.

It's dismaying to see that so many choose to accept this skewed approach to their work lives – from a business and societal perspective, and certainly from an existential angle. Worth mentioning is that the same survey from 2013 reported that "only" 69 percent of Danes went to work with little to no enthusiasm, so conditions have not grown better over time.

The Lebanese philosopher Khalil Gibran had a very different vision of work in his book "The Prophet" from 1923: "It is through your work that your love becomes visible," he wrote. I use this approach to work daily as I relate to my customers and employees.

We have defined the purpose of our company, and our employees know why they're with us. Combined, this gives us a strong, common starting point, but only when I'm at my best and my confidence is at its peak. When I lose heart, I resort to risk management, which is static and lacking vision. Then I start telling others what to do and miss the opportunity to utilise other people's amazing skills and resources, while undermining their foundation for achieving job satisfaction.

On Tuesday, I'm having dinner with my business partner, Oliver, and there I commit to finding new structures to ensure that neither he nor I stand in the way. It'll be love in tomato sauce!