While older generations may see climate change as an abstract concern, the younger people among us perceive climate change as an immediate, and terrifying, issue. In fact, in October 2018, the American Psychological Association published a study that found that 68% of Gen Z were anxious about their future—a stress motivated, in part, by the threat of climate change.
This is having an impact on young workers while on the job. There have been some reports that Gen Z will refuse to work for companies that aren’t climate conscious; as explained by the BBC, “35% of the 2,000 UK office workers surveyed said they were willing to quit their jobs over weak climate action from their employers, with the figure increasing to 53% for Gen Z employees.”
This Friday at SXSW, Daniel Ojo of Flower Boy LLC, Kristy Drutman of Green Jobs Board, Inc., and Taj Eldridge of Jobs for the Future came together for a panel hosted by Wawa Gatheru of Black Girl Environmentalist. The topic: Gen Z, the climate, and “climate quitting”—young people leaving their jobs due to their poor environmental policy.
While climate was the focus, the panel noted that this was largely a manifestation of Gen Z realizing that they have rights in the workplace and that they can use their labor to leverage not only their own power, but the workplace itself.
“[Young people] have to show up with their values,” Ojo explained. “The personal is political, and when we get into these spaces, we do have a story to tell.”
Eldridge later added, “[Young people are] starting to recognize that these aren’t issues that we can ignore.”
One of the major reasons for this change was both the pandemic and the resultant “great resignation.” Ojo described this as a galvanizing force in the workplace, and Drutman shared that, around this time, people became more aware of climate issues as something that can be naturally implemented into their lives.
“It’s not ‘the green people are over there,’” she said. “You all are the green people, too.”
That said, there are still issues on both the employee and employer side. Younger employees’ desire to “job-hop” and find the right job to fit their values means less time spent in each career—and thus less advancement—while employers are having trouble keeping workers due to the same issue.
“The biggest concern is retaining people in this industry and making sure there are long-term career ladders,” stated Drutman.
Regardless of the issues, the panel agreed that, as more Gen Z and below enter the workforce, companies must adapt to genuinely and meaningfully meet their interests if they want to hire them and keep them—and that extends beyond “greenwashing.”
“There’s a difference between green jobs and ‘quality’ green jobs,” declared Drutman. “We have to keep raising the standard.”