How Company Ethics Affects Employee Retention

Julie Starr • August 3, 2022



In recent years, ethics has become a much more important factor when it comes to building a successful company. Having good moral principles can not only help you to win over business by making customers feel better about their purchase, but it can also affect the pride that employees have in their work and the faith they have in your company. 

All in all, this can impact how many of your employees stay and how many leave. By practicing good ethics, you may find that you’re able to encourage more employees to stay loyal. Below are just a few examples of company ethics and how they can impact employee retention. 

Honesty and transparency

Employees want to work for an honest company – both to its employees and customers. If employees are constantly expected to lie or not mention certain things, it will affect their morale. Try to encourage honesty and transparency where possible. If certain practices are being covered up due to being immoral or illegal, it’s probably a sign that you should abandon these practices – they may eventually come to light if you’re not careful (and it could be an ex-employee that reveals them). 

Environmental awareness

All businesses should be doing their part to reduce environmental damage. This is important not just for saving the planet but for saving your workforce. A recent study found that 1 in 5 employees were considering leaving their job due to lack of green practices . Just what are some of the big ways in which businesses can become more eco-friendly? Using less paper, recycling, reducing energy consumption, and reducing plastic are all ways in which businesses can become more eco-friendly. Raising money for environmental causes can be another great way to become greener by actively fighting climate change. 

Data protection

It’s important that you’re protecting the data of both employees and customers. A data breach or leak could result in sensitive information becoming compromised. As a company, it is your duty to keep all data secure. Employees and customers should also have the right to withhold data or information providing that it’s not necessary to pay for your product or work for your company. If you’re not sure whether you’re protecting your data adequately enough, it could be worth talking to an expert for advice. 

Diversity and inclusion

It’s also important that your workplace supports diversity and inclusion. This involves hiring employees from a range of different backgrounds and actively supporting those with special requirements (such as providing disabled-friendly access to customers and employees with disabilities). A recent study found that 81% of workers would quit due to poor diversity practices at work . Make sure that you are not discriminating against any groups by not hiring them, offering poor pay or not making accessibility changes to your workplace. 

Treatment of workers

The biggest ethical concern that can affect employee retention is the treatment of workers. If employees feel that they are not being paid enough, not given any benefits or not being kept safe (i.e. poor health and safety practices), they will leave. Make sure that you are looking after your workers. It is also important to make sure that your suppliers are being fairly treated too – many employees will not feel good about working for a company that outsources unfair labor.

Simple Steps To Make Your Office Space More Eco-Friendly

By Julie Starr • October 7, 2024
Becoming more eco-friendly and running a greener business is a responsibility that business owners really need to think more about. The good news is that if you spend a lot of time in your office, there are plenty of ways to make it more eco-friendly without having to overhaul everything and start again (which isn’t just disruptive, but expensive too). So, if you’re ready to get started, here are some simple steps to make your office space more eco-friendly; read on to find out more. Use Energy-Efficient Lighting This idea is a simple one that you can do no matter what else might be on your list of tasks - it’s quick, easy, and really makes a difference; change your light bulbs to something more energy efficient. If you’re still using traditional fluorescent bulbs, it’s time to upgrade to LED which doesn’t just last longer, but also uses a lot less energy. They’re easy to install and they’ll help you cut down on your office’s energy usage almost instantly. If possible, you should make the most of natural light too, so think about rearranging your workspace to let in more sunlight, which saves energy and can boost your mood - it’s a win-win that you can do right away. Prioritize Air Quality The air you breathe matters, and keeping it clean can do wonders for your health and the planet. One way to improve air quality is by adding plants to your workspace because plants are natural air purifiers, and as a bonus, they’ll make your office feel more inviting. Another great idea is to make sure your office’s HVAC system is working efficiently, and having air duct cleaning done by professionals is an easy step you can take to improve air quality and ensure your heating and cooling systems aren’t wasting energy. Clean air ducts mean cleaner air, less strain on your system, and even lower energy bills, so it’s a simple but really effective thing to do. Switch To Reusable Products If your office is still stocking up on single-use plastic items, it’s time for a change - swap your disposable cups, utensils, and plates for reusable ones and you’ll be surprised at how much waste to eliminate. And what about encouraging people to bring their own mugs and water bottles to work? Give them tea, coffee, and water to refill everything with, and you’ll be doing your bit to help the planet and have less waste to deal with as well. And don’t stop with these things either - there are loads of reusable products that could be useful in your office. You could have refillable pens and ink cartridges for your printer, for example. Go Paperless Speaking of your printer, is that an office machine you actually need? If you were to go digital and aim for a paperless office , you might be able to do away with the printer, which means less money spent on ink and paper, and less energy used altogether. You should be able to set up a system where documents can be shared online and stored electronically, and there are plenty of tools around to help you do exactly that (and much more). If you don’t need to print something and you don’t need a physical copy of a document, don’t make one - just use the digital version instead and you’ll be a lot more eco-friendly.

3 Most Unsustainable Industries & What They're Doing To Be More Eco-Conscious

By Julie Starr • October 4, 2024
Sustainability often gets pushed on the common person. Joe Public is told to be more sustainable with their daily habits as the government pushes for more eco-friendly measures. This is all well and good - but does it really matter when 71% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 companies around the world? Small business owners are desperate to prove their sustainability, but what are bigger companies in some of the most polluting industries doing to help? We’ve taken three of the least sustainable sectors on the planet and explored the unique ways they’re trying to cut down on emissions and be more eco-friendly. Mining Any industry revolving around drilling underground will not be very environmentally friendly! Mining causes a lot of pollution, but its unsustainability often comes from the way it damages local environments and ecosystems. So, what is this industry doing to change things? It’s largely focusing on more responsible mining practices to reduce waste and mitigate the impact on local environments. This is done through mining dust suppression systems to prevent airborne pollution, reforesting mining sites when they’re no longer in use, and recycling as many materials as possible. Is it perfect? No, but it’s a step in the right direction. Fossil Fuels Shock horror; the fossil fuels industry is the most damaging to our environment. Finding ways to change the scope of this sector is the key to ensuring a better future for all. Some companies in this industry are trying to do this through carbon capture and storage. This is a technique where CO2 emissions are captured before they’re released into the atmosphere and stored underground. Realistically, the main thing fossil fuel companies should be doing is pushing for more renewable energy sources. Many are doing this - though reports suggest they’re not investing as much as they should. If fossil fuel companies dumped more money into developing biofuels and other renewable sources, pollution from this industry would drop dramatically. Fashion The most unbelievable stat to take from this post is that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of our global carbon footprint . That’s remarkable (and worrying), considering how most of us don’t view it as a “dangerous” industry. Fast fashion is the main problem; poorly-made goods are pumped out at a rapid rate, and consumers constantly buy new things. Fashion companies are trying their best to resolve this. Most big brands will now have sustainable lines using recyclable materials. Consumers also hold the key to solving this problem: stop buying new clothes all the time and wear yours for longer. Or buy pre-owned clothes to slow down the fashion production line. Companies can still do more as well: they are trying to adopt more eco-friendly production processes that use less water and energy. The moral of this post is that everyone can do their bit to fight for a more sustainable future. Keep this in mind for your small business . It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; there will always be ways to promote eco-friendly practices.
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