Working Investor

Until the 1970s, the sight of a construction worker checking stock prices on his lunch break was most unusual indeed. But in 1974, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) became common, prompting the rank and file to keep tabs on a company's performance with as much interest as top executives. While ESOPs are most commonly used to provide a market for the shares of departing owners of closely held firms, restructure benefit plans and take advantage of tax incentives, they are also a valuable means of motivating and rewarding employees and instilling a sense of pride in their livelihoods. Today, some 10,000 companies offer ESOPs to more than 10 million workers.