Saving the world delivers an engaged workforce … or does it?

We all like to think that we would do the right thing when it comes to choosing goods and services, right?

That we’d choose the company that didn’t use child workers in their factories or harm baby elephants in their pursuit of profit, or whatever other methods of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are espoused.

In actual fact, a recent study* suggests that surprisingly, in most cases, a company’s stated CSR mission does very little to sway customer’s minds. It does, however, attract a much more engaged, enthusiastic and conscientious workforce. So much so, that jobs advertised including a CSR statement can attract more, higher calibre candidates commensurate to advertising the self-same job with a 27% higher remuneration.

Due to a stronger moral engagement with the company, candidates believing in their lofty ideals are willing to work harder and for less money. Which sounds like an ideal turn of events, both for employee and employer. However – and it’s a big however – the study also found altruistic acts led to moral license in other areas. In one study it was shown that people who had recently donated money to charity were more likely to cheat on their taxes, for example. In other words, doing good in one area of work could lead employees to give themselves permission to cheat in others.

So how do you harness this enthusiasm to the benefit of you and your company without the commensurate ‘moral license’ effect? The trick is to engage staff, to let them know that CSR isn’t merely playing lip service. A caring ethic cannot be faked and employees will see through false commitment. Fully engaged employees excel in all areas with proven company advantages, including enhanced customer satisfaction, boosted turnover and lower staff turnover rates. There are literally no downsides to improving employee engagement.