A new study by Aviva Insurance has revealed that more than a fifth of workers (22%) would think about taking a lower salary if they had the option to do hybrid working, while almost a third (31%) would do the same if they were able to choose flexible working hours.
According to the latest edition of Aviva’s How We Live survey, almost a fifth of workers (18%) would be prepared to take a wage cut if they were going to work for a charity or not-for-profit organisation and 15% would do so if the company had strong environmental credentials. In the latter two cases, the view is higher amongst under-25s, with a quarter of people in this age group saying they would consider a lower salary for these reasons.
The previous issue of the survey published in November 2021 discovered two thirds of employees intend to make changes to their careers in the next 12 months. Aside from potential pay-cuts, around three fifths (58%) of UK workers would consider changing their current role for a ‘greener’ career.
The study suggests that this attitude is more prevalent in some sectors than others, with workers in finance and engineering/building among those most likely to hold this view at 70% in both cases.
There is also evidence that employers are becoming greener. Three quarters of workers said their employer has made changes to improve its environmental impact in the last five years – although 75% of people within this group feel there is still more to do.
More than a fifth (21%) of workers said they are already participating in initiatives to make their employer more environmentally-friendly, while an additional 50% of employees would like to get more involved in this area. M