Being Green at Work Brings More Job Satisfaction

How Being Eco-Friendly Encourages Productivity and Enjoyment

Jul 31, 2009 Deborah S. Hildebrand

Most people know the saying, "It is better to give than receive." Now companies and employees are proving it through green job satisfaction.

It seems logical that a great deal of personal satisfaction can come from a job well done or from being able to help someone achieve a goal. Naturally, these two concepts are not mutually exclusive. So what if the someone being helped is actually a lot of someones? Perhaps the whole human race. And what if the job well done is just the work someone does every day, eight to five, five days a week?

Well, it seems that more and more employees are finding a great deal of job satisfaction from just going to work each day because their employers are focused on finding ways to reduce the firm’s carbon footprint and the employees reap the benefit of being able to help improve the environment while they earn a living.

Green Employees are Happy Employees

A 2008 annual survey conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute (KRI) in 13 countries found that organizations that support sustainability initiatives such as recycling and energy conservation have a positive influence on employees’ engagement levels. (Nitya Prashant, TMCnet.com, “Green Technology - Green Employees Are Positive Employees,” April 2008)

The research indicated that employees felt pride, overall satisfaction and a willingness to recommend their employer as a good place to work when employees had a favorable view of the company’s green efforts. In addition, employees saw senior managers in a positive light feeling they were able to deal with challenges while providing a clear direction for the organization. High standards of ethical conduct and a good company reputation were also cited by employees of green organizations.

It’s long been known that workplace culture has a lot of influence on how employees feel about their jobs and whether or not they are actively engaged at work. So it makes a lot of sense that if workers feel good about their company’s efforts to be economically, socially, and environmentally aware that these positive feelings would translate to more job satisfaction.

Green Benefits Influence Employee Satisfaction

Another way that green employers can bring more job satisfaction to employees is to offer green benefits above and beyond the usual benefit package. Depending on the employer that can mean a lot of different things, from offering time off to volunteer for an earth-friendly cause to providing alternative transportation options such as sponsoring a hybrid car purchase.

At one net carbon neutral company employees cite one of the benefits of working there as the opportunity to work with others who share their values to live a “healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.” Plus this small firm of just six employees “encourages morning group workouts, subsidizes gym memberships and grants time off for marathons.” They say these green employee benefits keep them happy and involved. (Dawn Dzurilla, greenbiz.com, “Renewable Energy Firms Strike Gold with Green Employee Benefits,” January 2008)

The fact is that businesses have long been concerned about what it would cost to go green. But a February 2008 report from Brockmann and Company shows that companies which focus on things such as “recycling in the office, reducing energy consumption in the office and use video conferencing or telepresence technologies intensively, have higher customer satisfaction, higher employee satisfaction and higher revenues per employee."

The fact is that when employees are happy they are productive. And being green at work appears to bring more job satisfaction.

The copyright of the article Being Green at Work Brings More Job Satisfaction in Workplace Culture is owned by Deborah S. Hildebrand. Permission to republish Being Green at Work Brings More Job Satisfaction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Happy and Green Employees