A promise of reward is a long-term input that generates an efficient outcome. Rewards have traditionally been the one of the most powerful forms of reinforcement in an organisational setting.
Oftentimes, they render an alignment in the company’s objectives, performance, employee involvement and are presented in various forms which are usually formal, psychological, and social in nature. In the current scenario, Green Rewards are gaining preference because of their sustainable nature and eco-friendly results. It is observed that when employee engage on the pro environmental activities it increases their job satisfaction and citizenship behaviour as well.
Organisations across the globe have gradually realised that going green is more of a need than a trend. This believe has helped in the optimization of green initiatives on a larger scale. There is an increased focus on developing sustainable activities thus seeking organisational sustainability solutions. Green rewards and compensation programmes, help organisations engage their staff in industrial green practices and motivates them to use less energy and limited resources in their work processes.
Employee participation involves solving environmental issue and the creation of novel approaches to reduce workplace environmental pollutants. Therefore, introducing newcomers to the organizations greening initiatives and developing modules for them induces green citizenship behaviour for the future. But the challenge is that most companies is that they lack the resources and/or expertise to embed sustainability into their employees’ day-to-day work.
Over the years, primary energy demands have grown and there has been an alarming acceleration in the progression of irreversible climate change, environmental pollution, and resource scarcity. The carbon emission has also accelerated highly. Post these issues the idea of sustainability has taken a front seat in the organizations, where the main focus is on strategizing a business without negatively impacting the environment, community, or society as a whole, thereby making sure financial success is not jeopardized and the shift is gaining popularity as empirical data shows that successful sustainability performance is linked with and favorable outcomes. Companies that execute large-scale sustainability programs can gain a competitive advantage since customers are more likely to support environmentally conscientious businesses. These activities also encourage more innovation, improved risk management, and increased stakeholder involvement. Companies who embed sustainability into their business model have not only seen financial advancements, but improved employee retention, productivity, and overall engagement. With these results, it is clear that incorporating sustainability into an organizations operations is a wise move.
Although a company may have a central department that leads and implements sustainability strategies across the organization, a company’s sustainability initiatives are most impactful if they are fully supported and pursued by all teams and individuals throughout the organization. Nike, for instance, has effectively encouraged workers to bring reusable lunch containers as part of their & Reusable Dishware Program & PepsiCo approaches employee engagement in sustainability from the top down, with high level staff serving as role models for the sustainability behaviours and mindsets they hope all workers will embrace.
Thus, employee engagement in sustainability is crucial for organisations looking to improve their performance and meet the urgent need for sustainable workplace practices.
References
- Employee Engagement. (2022, July 6). PepsiCo. Retrieved October 2022 from, https://www.pepsico.com/our-impact/esg-topics-a-z/employee-engagement
- Engaging with Stakeholders. (n.d.). Unilever. Retrieved December 2022, from https://www.unilever.com/planet-and-society/responsible-business/engaging-withstakeholders/.
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