Sustainability Risk of employee burnout – Environment and development

Most sustainability workers in the UK public sector, NGOs and business feel that their working conditions are unsustainable. This was shown in a recent survey conducted by the British trade union prospectus, in which 500 professionals in environment-related professions were interviewed.

Seven in ten respondents believe their departments are understaffed and have difficulty attracting talent. Four in ten also say their departments have shrunk in the past year. According to the respondents, it leads to increase in workload. A third believe their workload has increased significantly in the past 12 months.

More demands on companies

Union Prospect believes that the situation is unsustainable as the increased workload does not lead to higher wages or opportunities for career growth. The average salary of those surveyed, many of whom had a Masters or PhD, was £40,000 or less. This compares with the UK average of £38,600.

The study also found that poor working conditions increase the risk of burnout.

– The insight our sustainability experts provide is invaluable to understanding what is happening on the front lines in the fight against the climate crisis. They tell us that reducing specialist roles in departments is making them burn out more. Despite the government’s talk of green jobs, it is failing to provide the funding needed to work in the sustainability sector, Sue Ferns, Deputy Secretary-General of Prospect, commented on the organisation’s website. .

At the same time as sustainability issues in the UK’s public sector and business life are diminishing, sustainability demands from the country’s workforce are increasing. Another poll released this week showed that a fifth of UK workers would reject jobs outright for companies that did not prioritize sustainability issues.

The survey, conducted by Save Money Cut Carbon, found that 14 percent said they were forced to take responsibility for the company’s sustainability because the company was not handling issues properly.