The majority of CEOs say they feel ‘pressured’ by employees, customers and boards to improve human sustainability, a new study has revealed.
The survey, carried out by Deloitte revealed that around eight out of 10 CEOs, say they’re feeling pressured to make public commitments to improve human sustainability from employees (82%), customers (78%), investors (78%), partners (77%) and board members (77%).
Leaders are largely embracing this pressure, noted the report. In fact, 88% would like their pay to be tied to human sustainability metrics. Additionally, 71% believe their company’s leadership should change if they aren’t advancing human sustainability. Around three out of four executives agree that human sustainability is an enterprise risk that should be measured and monitored (73%) and discussed at the board level (75%).
The new report in collaboration with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence uncovers growing pressure for companies to prioritise human sustainability. It also explores the degree to which an organisation creates value for people as human beings, leaving them with greater health and wellbeing, stronger skills and greater employability, good jobs, opportunities for advancement, progress toward equity, increased belonging, and heightened connection to purpose.
ADVANCING HUMAN SUSTAINABILITY
The report titled, The important role of leaders in advancing human sustainability, also reveals that doing well by workers and the world can offer long-term benefits for both people and organisations. However, to help companies to move their human sustainability efforts forward and reap these benefits, leaders should increase their understanding of worker realities at their own organisation.
Other key findings from the research revealed that 82% of executives believe their company is advancing human sustainability, but just 56% of workers agree. In fact, some leaders fail to recognise that for most people surveyed, work is a negative rather than a positive force in their lives. Around 90% of executives believe that working for their company has a positive effect on employee wellbeing, skills development, career advancement, inclusion and belonging, and their sense of purpose and meaning. However, just 60% (or fewer) of workers agree.
EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
Workforce wellbeing – a key component of human sustainability º continues to need focus, noted the report. But many executives may not be aligned with what their worker sentiment reveals. Only around one out of three workers say their physical (34%), mental (32%), financial (35%) and social (31%) wellbeing improved last year. However, at least seven out of 10 executives believe these well-being dimensions improved for their people.
Around seven out of 10 workers said if their organisation increased its commitment to human sustainability, this would improve their overall experience at work (72%) and increase their engagement and job satisfaction (71%); productivity (70%); desire to stay with their company long-term (70%); and trust in their company’s leadership (69%).
HUMAN SUSTAINABILITY METRICS
The report also found that:
- Eighty-two percent of executives say companies should be required to publicly report their human sustainability metrics. However, 81% admit their own organisation isn’t doing enough when it comes to making public commitments around human issues. Around a third (32%) of these leaders say this is because the goals they could realistically accomplish are trivial and they’re embarrassed to make public commitments around them.
- A significant majority of executives (88%) would like their compensation to be tied to human sustainability metrics. Remarkably, nearly half (47%) would like at least 75% of their compensation to be linked to these metrics. What’s more, 61% of the C-suite say they’d accept a pay cut to work for a company that is advancing human sustainability.
“It’s promising that so many of today’s leaders are willing to take ownership of human sustainability,” stated Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence. “However, some executives don’t realise that their own employees are dealing with a suboptimal work experience. The disconnects uncovered in our research should be a call to action for leaders as they embark on their mission to create greater value for all stakeholders within the broader human ecosystem.”
EMBRACING SUSTAINABILITY
Embracing human sustainability “can have benefits for both business and people,” added Paul Silverglate, US Executive Accelerators leader and Deloitte’s US Technology Sector vice chair. “Today’s C-suite has an opportunity to help ensure it is prioritised at the highest levels of their organisations, helping them become more rewarding and productive places to work.”
Jen Fisher, retired managing director at Deloitte US, shares Silverglate’s sentiment. “There is an incredible momentum building for organizations to make meaningful change,” noted Fisher. “But leaders should move away from a legacy mindset that centers on extracting value from people and instead embrace the concept of human sustainability, which can support the long-term, collective well-being of individuals, organizations and society.”
The research findings are based on a survey conducted by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence among 3,150 employees, managers and C-level executives across the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Click here to access the full report.
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