MarshMcLennan says that, “Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are no longer treated as an afterthought by companies. These issues are increasingly central to a firm’s reputation and financial performance. They are scrutinized by an array of stakeholders including investors, ratings agencies and clients.
To date, however, there has been limited attention paid to how a company’s ESG performance. It affects one of the most important stakeholder groups: its employees.
Drawing on MSCI’s ESG data, this study offers insights into the relationship between ESG performance and workforce sentiment. “It is a key lever in a time of unpredictable turnover and tough competition for talent.”
Engagement in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) is intended to assist businesses in terms of efficiency and sustainability. The transformational change in management techniques would not only provide support for employees, but it would also result in increased workload. This might negatively impact employee psychological well-being. However, there has been little research into the relationship between business ESG initiatives and employee occupational stress. Therefore this study tries to address that gap.
ORIGINS OF ESG IN WORPLACE
ESG began as a framework to assist investors in selecting investments based on characteristics other than financial return.
The issue investors were seeking to solve was that they didn’t know how to account for externalities, which are activities that don’t cost a firm anything but cost others (such as dumping rubbish) (who had to clean it up).
Three key elements emerged:
- Environment – How does an organization’s activity or decision consume energy and other resources, and how does it generate waste?
- Social – In the broadest, most diverse sense, how does an activity effect people?
- Governance – What criteria are used to make choices, and are they honest, ethical, and fair?
This three-part structure has grown beyond its basic investment foundations. It encompasses much of how society expects businesses, nonprofits, and governments to perform. Employees are becoming increasingly aware of inconsistencies between what a firm claims and how it performs. The advantages of consistent ESG behaviour in the workplace may be seen in the results.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a management intervention is capturing the attention of entrepreneurs all over the world, It has led them to believe that CSR activities can aid in the long-term sustainability and stability of their businesses. In India, business owners are becoming more aware of their companies’ social responsibilities. It means giving back to the society from which they obtain various resources for conducting their operations. Despite the fact that India is well on its way to rapid development, CSR has grown in importance and taken center stage in enterprises. The shift is notable because the organizations are shifting away from corporate philanthropy in important ways and toward social commitment and accountability in increasingly responsible social acts.
With the regulations in place and rising levels of awareness and adoption of CSR in India, the focus has shifted from one-off charitable activities and donations to more planned and organised activities, more in the form of planned corporate strategic activities that are oriented toward fulfilling the organization’s social responsibilities and building trust. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a strategy for improving and securing labour and human relations. It also includes environmental protection norms.
