Eco-friendly policies could entice Australian workers back to office
This was according to Dr Subha Parida, human resources expert at University of South Australia, who said green buildings with the right human resource policies in place could help employers support their employees in making a safe return to the office, while boosting workers’ wellbeing and the business bottom line.
“Our research suggests green human resource management (HRM) that fosters eco-friendly or ‘green’ behaviours can lead to non-green workplace benefits, such as higher job satisfaction, stronger employee engagement and increased productivity,” she said.
“By extending green policies beyond the building, we’ve found that workers will not only have a durable, liveable, and accessible workplace, but a safe and healthy one as well. “
Dr Subha’s team also found that occupants in green buildings have higher cognitive function scores, less sickness and higher sleep quality scores than workers in non-green buildings.
She added, “With organisations struggling to get workers back into offices after working from home for so long, in what some are now calling ‘The Great Resistance’, offering a green workplace could be the incentive workers need to go back to the city.”
However, the lack of knowledge, lack of training and lack of support from leaders can significantly slow down a green building’s performance, Dr Subha said.
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“This is where green HRM comes in…Green HRM practices create a green corporate culture that motivates employees to be sustainable. While environmental sustainability is critical as we strive to reduce carbon emissions globally, employers who go green also create an attractive space that improves employees’ health and wellbeing,” she concluded.
