Employee ownership occurs when a corporation is owned in whole or in part by its employees. Employees are usually given a share of the corporation after a certain length of employment or they can buy shares at any time. A corporation owned entirely by its employees (such as a worker cooperative) will not, therefore, have its shares sold on public stock markets. Employee-owned corporations often adopt profit sharing where the profits of the corporation are shared with the employees. They also often have boards of directors elected directly by the employees. Some corporations make formal arrangements for employee participation, called Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).