I’ve lived in and worked at a number of co-ops. I think they’re far better for the employee than traditional businesses when implemented in a democratic way. Having control over the workplace and direction of the business is incredibly valuable. It’s also important that the co-op members talk to and know eachother. Having lots of meetings and community building is very typical in this type of business.

Also the type of co-op I’m talking about also returns excess profits to the workers (often with a portion taken out to be put back into the business/saved for a rainy day). In this way they are way better than unions, which no matter how powerful do not fully redistribute profits.

I also think worker co-ops are functionally better than worker communes. Co-ops give much more economic freedom to the workers, and side step many of the pitfalls of live/work communes.

Feel free to ask me more about my experiences if you’re curious :)