The Vital Connection Between Sustainability and Employee Engagement

In today’s workforce, sustainability has emerged as a critical element for companies to consider if they wish to attract and retain top talent. Employees now view sustainability as a crucial indicator of the values and ethics held by a company. It represents a commitment to making a positive impact on social and environmental issues, and employees are seeking employers who share these values.

An employee engagement study conducted by TheTalentPeople revealed that a staggering 68% of employees stated that they active seek employers with strong policies addressing social or environmental sustainability issues. This statistic alone emphasizes the significant role sustainability plays in talent acquisition and employee retention.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Cone Communications found that 74% of employees reported feeling a greater sense of fulfillment in their work when given the opportunity to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues. This sense of purpose not only drives employee engagement but also contributes to their overall loyalty to a company. In fact, 70% of respondents stated that they would be more inclined to stay with a company that helps them contribute to solutions for these issues.

Millennials comprise a significant portion of the workforce and are crucial to consider when examining the impact of sustainability on employee engagement. By 2025, it is projected that Millennials will make up approximately 75% of the workforce. For this generation, finding employment with socially responsible companies is a top priority. The Cone Communications study revealed that 64% of Millennials would reject a job offer if the employer did not have a strong corporate social responsibility policy. Furthermore, an overwhelming 83% would display greater loyalty to a company that actively involves them in addressing social and environmental issues.

Additional research indicates that 96% of Millennial employees believe their work should have a purpose and contribute to making a positive impact on the world. Therefore, it is evident that sustainability is more than just a buzzword for the workforce; it is a defining factor that organizations need to prioritize to attract, engage, and retain their employees.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be difficult,” explains Ray Horan, CEO, OneSeed.

OneSeed addresses the challenge of these changing workplace requirements by integrating sustainability into every employee’s position, thereby turning sustainability into “business as usual.” Any regular daily employee action such as attending an internal training, participating in an internal survey, or reading an internal communication, can be turned into a sustainable activity by planting a tree for the employee’s engagement.

“Even for companies with a strong sustainability initiative, giving employees the ability to have a direct positive impact is empowering,” Horan continues. “Employees can virtually visit their trees, build a forest, and continually see the amount of carbon they’ve helped capture increase as their trees grow and they plant more trees. It’s that tangible experience that helps generate a real sense of ownership.”

As our jobs have become such a big part of our lives, it makes sense that we’d want to see alignment between our personal values and those of the organizations for which we work, so it is no surprise that environmental sustainability is now a core value that employees are looking to share with their employers.

As employees seek meaningful work experiences, employers must recognize the importance of sustainability in fulfilling these needs. Supporting sustainable practices and providing opportunities for employees to contribute to social and environmental solutions will foster engagement, drive performance, and create a sense of fulfillment. By doing so, companies can create a workforce that is passionate, loyal, and fully dedicated to making a positive impact on the world.