Is There a Moral Face? Surprisingly, Maybe

As I read accounts of the Republican dominated Senate pulling every disgusting trick invented to avoid their Constitutional responsibilities and end the most corrupt and psychopathic presidency in the history of the nation, it is hard to imagine that global corporations will adopt “corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused on solving societal and environmental concerns”.

But that is exactly what this article suggests.

Why? Because their employees demand it and it's positive for their bottom line.

Perhaps there is some modicum of hope for us after all.

Here’s the story…

Employees want genuine corporate social responsibility, not greenwashing, Magda B.l. Donia, The Conversation, phys.org, 30 Jan 2020.

"Employees want their companies to be genuine in their embrace of corporate social responsibility, and have no appetite for self-serving efforts."

"Described as the "moral face of globalization," corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused on solving societal and environmental concerns are increasingly expected by society, especially younger generations."

"Millennials are particularly principled, with some studies suggesting they care more about purpose than a paycheck when it comes to work. A report by Hewitt and Associates found that "corporate social responsibility can improve (the) … bottom line, in part by giving … the most engaged employees a reason to stay and work harder."

"That means organizations have an additional reason to engage in CSR—it has a positive impact on their own employees."

"In fact, companies that engage in CSR report positive consequences on important outcomes such as the appeal of the organization to job applicants, employee commitment to the organization, job satisfaction and job performance."

-more-

"Greed is Good", Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) Wall Street - 1987 

Breaking Corporate Shackles

There is Hope for Us

A recent Deloitte survey of Millennials* from around the world has given me hope for a better future.

It appears that Millennials favor “personal values / morals” in addition to “personal goals and ambitions and career progression” over “meeting the organization’s formal targets or objective”.

Could this suggest that the corporate, soulless entities (which seem to be in control of everything) might at some future time be nudged toward considering serving the needs of actual humans rather than poisoning the environment and minimizing their payroll?

O.K., I may be jumping to conclusions here. Still, it’s a good sign that our younger generation may not be as sucked into “corporate B.S.” as we Boomers were.

Here some findings:
Question: How much influence do the following factors have when you are making decisions at work?

When asked to state the level of influence different factors have on their decision making at work, “personal values/morals” ranked first. Over half (55 percent) said this had a very high degree of influence, with “personal goals and ambitions and career progression” (51 percent) ranking second. “Meeting the organization’s formal targets or objective” ranked only fifth of the seven factors measured.

This emphasis on personal values continues into the boardroom; the rank order of priorities does not change for senior Millennials. As such, we can expect Millennial leaders to base their decisions as much on personal values as on the achievement of specific targets or goals.

Question: If you had a choice, how long would you stay with your current employer before leaving to join a new organization or do something different?

During the next year, if given the choice, one in four Millennials would quit his or her current employer to join a new organization or to do something different. That figure increases to 44 percent when the time frame is expanded to two years. By the end of 2020, two of every three respondents hope to have moved on, while only 16 percent of Millennials see themselves with their current employers a decade from now. This remarkable absence of loyalty represents a serious challenge to any business employing a large number of Millennials, especially those in markets — like the United States — where Millennials now represent the largest segment of the workforce.

* The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, Dr. Patricia Buckley, Dr. Peter Viechnicki, and Akrur Baruahttp, “A New Understanding of Millennials: Generational Differences Reexamined”