A sustainability survey has found that Australians want more sustainable workplaces and workplaces have responded by including sustainability as part of their organisational strategy.
The second wave of the Sustainability in the Workplace is the result of a survey of 1,051 Australians – the majority of them office workers – in 2012.
The survey was undertaken to help organisations gain an understanding of workplace attitudes to sustainability and how to promote positive behavioural change.
Director of Sustainability at Work Tania Crosbie said the survey reveals that, with all the pressure Australian businesses are experiencing, employees still want their employers to deliver sustainable workplaces.
“This has increased by five per cent in twelve months with 73 per cent of employees saying it is very important and also important that employers act in a sustainable way," she said.
The report also found that employees have improved their own sustainable performance at home (up eight to 85 per cent), improved their performance at work (up by 9.5 to 67 per cent) with organisational performance up 10 per cent from 57 per cent.
“This may be due to an increase in the attention organisations are giving to environmental sustainability in the workplace, with 37 per cent of Australian Workers feeling there had been an increase in attention," Crosbie said.
"Employees are also more aware of what their organisation is doing, with 29 per cent of employees indicating their company has a sustainability committee/green team and 41 per cent with a sustainability policy.”
While there has been obvious improvement, Crosbie said there is still a long way to go, with 28 per cent (up from 21 per cent) of Australian workers indicating their biggest barrier was lack of facilities, lack of ‘how to’ and lack of
encouragement.
One of the most revealing findings that surprised in 2011 was that more than 75 per cent of Australians surveyed believed their workplace productivity was being undermined by the workplace itself.
Disturbingly this statistic has increased to 92 per cent in 2012 – with the ‘perception’ that their workspace was contributing to headaches, fatigue and eyestrain, and generally having an adverse effect on their health.
Fellow Director of Sustainability at Work, Melissa Houghton said perceptions are important when it comes to self-reported ailments or symptoms.
Houghton said employees in green offices are less likely to suffer from ailments at work.
“Understanding current attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability and the impact it has on employees can provide insights and a platform for organisations to make meaningful change,” she said.
Sustainability in the Workplace can be downloaded from: www.sustainabilityatwork.com.au
