Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Newsroom
Nov 14, 2025
Employee Owners Do More Than Show Up — We Build Things Better
Jessica Smith, Test Engineering Technician, SEL. Published by Idaho Business Review.
The phrase “blood, sweat, and tears” is often used loosely, but in an employee-owned company, it takes on a deeper meaning. When the outcome belongs to everyone, so does the effort. There is a quiet kind of accountability that takes hold when you know you are not just doing the work, you are shaping the result. Pride shows up in small ways, in the attention to detail, the cleaner handoff, the willingness to speak up when something could be done better. Ownership creates that. It turns routine into responsibility. It makes the work matter.That mindset is what gave me the confidence to speak up and eventually to help design something new. My coworker and I kept running into the same issue on the floor: Tiny parts getting lost in oversized bins. It was a small problem, but it added up. We started asking, what if we could redesign the way we store these? With Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories‘ support, we sketched a fix, used the 3D printer at work, and created a part that solved the problem. Today, that solution has a patent with both of our names on it.This is not like any job I have had before. At other places, you are typically expected to do things a certain way, whether they work or not. Here, you are expected to ask questions. People are encouraged to speak up, suggest improvements, and test out new ideas. If it works, great. If not, we try something else. That kind of openness is rare, and it is one reason people care so deeply about the work they do. Nationally, only about one in three employees reports feeling engaged at work. But when you have a voice, when your ideas matter, and when you are building something you partially own, that engagement comes naturally. You stop going through the motions. You start finding ways to make things better.And it is not just about being productive. It is about being valued and having a future. In one national survey, two-thirds of employees at employee-owned companies felt highly valued by their employers, whereas less than half of other workers shared the same sentiment. That gap is something you can feel day to day. When you know your company is invested in you, it changes how you show up. That matters even more for the next generation of workers. Majority of millennials believe professional development is essential in their job. In an employee-owned company, those opportunities are not just available. They are expected.With all the benefits that employee ownership brings — from stronger engagement to long term career growth — the question is, why are there not more companies like this?Many workers are unaware that employee ownership is even an option, while business owners are not aware of how to make the transition or where to start. As a result, a model that helps businesses and workers thrive remains far too rare.Idaho is already beginning to embrace this model. Across the state, there are 57 employee owned companies and nearly 38,000 employee-owners. But to bring those numbers higher, we need stronger policies that make employee ownership more accessible. One example is the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act, a bipartisan bill designed to help more businesses transition to employee ownership. Simple steps like encouraging owners to sell to their employees, offering technical assistance, and streamlining the process could make a meaningful difference for workers and communities across Idaho.Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch have already recognized the value of this model by cosponsoring the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act. Their leadership sends a clear message that employee ownership is good for Idaho’s workforce and economy. Now, the rest of Idaho’s congressional delegation should follow their lead. By supporting this legislation, they can help more local businesses flourish, give more employees a stake in their future, and create more stories like mine.Jessica Smith is a Manufacturing Test Technician at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories based in Lewiston.To view at Idaho Business Review, click here.