Five ways to Empower Your Workforce and Combat Conscious Quitting

Conscious quitting is the new quiet quitting. It reflects a profound shift in employee priorities, arising when an employee’s concerns no longer align with their employer's values, especially with regard to societal well-being and environmental responsibility.

And with recent research finding that around half of all surveyed employees would consider resigning if the company’s values don’t align with their own – and a third saying they already have – it’s a crucial issue for employers to grapple with.

“Forget bean bags and gym memberships. Employees want strong values and positive impact.“

Paul Polman, ex-CEO of Unilever

Even though many employees know that their companies are taking some actions to address big societal and environmental challenges, such as climate change and inequality, two out of three say it’s still not enough.

What’s more, all of these numbers are even higher for Millennials and Gen Z – the workforce of the future. They see the ambition gap and want their companies to step up.

The rise of conscious quitting in the workplace calls for innovative strategies to retain and engage talent. Companies must not only understand this phenomenon but also take proactive steps to address it.

As former Unilever CEO Paul Polman neatly put it “Forget bean bags and gym memberships. Employees want strong values and positive impact.“

Mitigating Conscious Quitting 

To prevent conscious quitting, there are several steps companies can take steps to foster alignment between their values and those of their employees:

1. Clearly Define and Communicate Values: Companies should define their values and mission clearly and transparently. Make sure employees understand the company's commitment to societal well-being, environmental sustainability, and other relevant areas.
2. Embrace Sustainability: Prioritise sustainability efforts, and genuinely put the planet before profit. Showcase your sustainability initiatives, whether it's reducing carbon emissions, adopting eco-friendly practices, or supporting community projects.
3. Foster Empathy in Leadership: Leadership should embody empathy, inclusivity, and diversity. Create a culture where employees feel heard and valued. Highlight your leadership's commitment to these principles.
4. Empower Employees: Encourage employees to be part of the solution. Seek their input and involve them in initiatives that improve the company's impact on the world. Showcase employee-driven successes.
5. Create a Climate Positive Culture: Reewild offers a Climate Positive Culture service that brings all these elements together into one sustainability-enhancing, conscious quitting-combatting package. Through this plan, we can help to set you apart in the market and help you to attract and retain the increasingly purpose-driven talent pool.

The benefits of a Climate Positive Culture: 

• Empower your employees to take control of their carbon footprint, and live more sustainably, via premium access to the Reewild carbon tracking app. 
• The app helps employees to discover the climate impact of millions of products and recipes, enabling them to track and reduce their personal dietary carbon footprint over time. Employees also gain access to exclusive discounts and offers from sustainable brands, such as Coco di Mama, Candy Kittens and Mindful Chef.
• Make your workforce Carbon Literate. In-person training or access to an on-demand platform with tailored video courses presented by leading experts.
• Build community around climate action through tree planting offsites, followed by food, drinks and music.
• Offset the emissions of all of your employees, creating a carbon neutral workforce, and contributing to your Scope 3 emissions reduction and Net Zero targets.  
• Communicate your sustainability efforts and involve your workforce in the decision-making.
• Proudly display your company's green credentials via a public Impact Page and add an extra gear to your sustainability strategy.
• Many more features dropping in 2024, including "Cheaper & Greener" - a new Reewild tools that unlocks exclusive discounts from leading European supermarkets, making your weekly shop £60 cheaper on average per week. And "Green Mobility" - free minutes on popular eBike and eScooter sharing schemes.

Start taking climate action today and share your positive environmental impact with the world!