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- Younger professionals in the UK are increasingly leaving their jobs or turning jobs down when a company's climate commitments, or lack thereof, do not align with their values.
- This according to a KPMG survey, which found millennials and Gen Zs put their ESG values forward when looking for a job.
- The report also found 46% of the respondents want the companies they work for to take their climate commitments seriously.
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More young people are willing to leave their jobs or reject a job offer if a company does not align with their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) expectations.
This according to a 2023 survey by KPMG, which surveyed 6 000 UK workers, student interns, and recent varsity leavers to gain insight into their attitudes in the workplace.
The survey found about 20% of the participants rejected job offers after finding out a company's ESG commitments were not in line with their values.
This trend of young people walking away from their job when companies fail to show their climate commitments is dubbed "climate quitting" or "conscious quitting".It also revealed 46% of the participants want the companies they currently work for to take their climate commitments seriously.
"It is clear from recent COP27 discussions that, while some progress is being made, there is still a long way to go if we are going to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
"It is the younger generations that will see the greater impacts if we fail to reach this target, so it is unsurprising that this, and other interrelated ESG considerations, are front of mind for many when choosing who they will work for," said the head of ESG at KPMG in the UK, John McCalla-Leacy.
Another 2022 survey by the Financial Times, surveyed 2 000 workers in the UK.
It found about half the working professionals between 18 and 24 are more likely to seriously consider leaving a job due to a company's net zero policies.
This includes more Gen Zs than any other age group.
Appeal to the younger generation
With younger generations making conscious decisions regarding who they work for, companies will need to put in a lot of effort to appeal to environmentally conscious employees to retain talent.
"For businesses, the direction of travel is clear. By 2025, 75% of the working population will be millennials, meaning they will need to have credible plans to address ESG if they want to continue to attract and retain this growing pool of talent," McCalla-Leacy said.
According to McKinsey insight, introducing ESG policies and incentivising ESG outcomes could help retain young talent.
"To keep eco-minded Gen Z employees engaged, employers could consider ESG policies that signal their commitment, both internally and externally. One example could be to tie ESG outcomes to executive pay.
"It can also mean regularly sharing reports on how successful a business is with meeting its ESG goals, offering employees resources that help them to be more eco-friendly, or making physical workspaces more sustainable."
