It’s a broadly accepted fact that engaged employees are a major benefit to businesses of all types. The Gallup organization dubbed employee engagement “a leading indicator of financial performance” and backed it up with research showing that “engaged organizations have 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with lower engagement in the same industry.”
Great statistics, but what does this have to do with sustainability?
According to a 2010 study by Hewitt and Associates, it turns out that there is a strong correlation between engagement and socially and environmentally responsible organizations. It dawned on me that perhaps these employees are more engaged because they see their job as their cause. When your job is your cause, you are naturally motivated to work hard and innovate. Since sustainability is an important cause for a lot of employees (especially younger workers), it makes sense that the companies with world-class sustainability programs also have higher engagement scores.
So, if employee engagement is a top business priority and sustainability programs are a way to drive better engagement, there is a clear imperative to make sustainability a part of the work experience. The question is: How?