One observes a certain angst and anxiety as people struggle to attain some sense that their economic destiny is in their own hands. The attraction of communism was in part a promise of participation rather than labor being a mere commodity to be used or discarded at the will of dimly perceived distant actors. The promise was never delivered. Worker ownership of the means of production never really meant active participation by more than a few. Just doing a good job is not enough.
Cooperatives adjust wages while investor owned firms adjust employment.
A worker owned firm has roots in a place. It is the responsibility of the firm to find new products for the owners to make. The decline of unions suggests that this institution is not filling the needs for worker security. Part-time farmers and residents of small towns are devastated when a local firm closes. The residents find the value of their real estate plummets.