Recent studies have shown that workers are more likely to be engaged and productive when working for an eco-friendly company. In fact, 51% of Americans would not work for a company that doesn’t have strong commitments to environmental or social causes. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that people are starting to become aware of how serious climate change is, especially when you consider the fact that America alone produces over 5 billion tons of carbon emissions every day. Employees these days don’t just work for the paycheck, but they also want to feel part of a cause. Here’s how you can increase employee engagement by going green:
Communicate & Educate
Before anything, it’s important to have your workers on board with your green policies, and for that to happen, they need to understand why such measures will be taken. Make sure you provide them with statistics that will really make them think twice about the issues at hand. For example, you can let them know that the total amount of electricity consumed by idle electronics during office hours equates to the annual output of 12 power plants. Breaking it down with facts like these can really change the mindset of your employees, and they’ll more likely want to do their bit to help out.
Treat Causes As Importantly As Profits
Profits are what allow businesses to stay alive and grow, but if your company shows that it only cares about money, then you are more likely to have disengaged employees. 74% of the American workforce believe that a job is more fulfilling when it takes steps to tackle environmental or social problems. By actively carrying out green policies in the workplace, such as going paperless and using sustainable energy sources, your employees will feel like they are part of a cause, and this will naturally improve their work ethic. Another way to engage employees in energy-saving activities is to encourage them to bring their own ideas to the table, perhaps through a brainstorming session. By involving employees directly, you’ll make them feel invested in the success of the project.
Create A Homey Environment
People are far more economical in their own homes when it comes to energy consumption, as they are more aware of how it will impact their utility bills at the end of each month. In the workplace though, however, people are more wasteful and tend to be more complacent. A good tip is to encourage your workers to treat the office as they would their own home, so that means turning off computers and lights when not in use. You can do this by creating more of a homey environment, by using more natural looking lights such as LED bulbs as opposed to glaring traditional ones, and introducing sustainable cozy furniture.
Minimize Travel
With most companies these days, a lot of work can be done from a laptop or computer. Allowing your employees to work from home every now and then is a great way to engage them with the company and give them some flexibility, especially when you tell them that the travel sector is the number one cause of carbon emissions in America. For business trips, you should always get them to carpool with each other, when possible as this cuts back on travel expenses, CO2 emissions and it helps foster stronger working relationships.
About Insightlink:
Insightlink Communications is a leader in full service employee surveys and offers a range of employee survey products and services to fit their client's needs. With over 18 years of experience, Insightlink's reputation has been built on giving organizations the knowledge they need to create effective change using their acclaimed employee research, analytics, benchmarking and survey methodologies. Insightlink's expertise in data collection reporting and analytics takes the pressure off organizations that find data overwhelming and daunting creating reports that are digestible and understandable, simple and easy to understand for organizations of any size and experience level. For more information please contact us at 866-802-8095 ext 705 or visit our website here.
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