One-half of Canadians would take pay cut for socially responsible company

One-half of Canadians would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company, according to a survey of 1,001 people by Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ont.

Eight per cent would take a cut of 10 per cent or more, 15 per cent would take a cut of five per cent to 10 per cent while 28 per cent would take a cut between one per cent and five per cent. Younger Canadians are the most likely to take a pay cut, though the average pay cut people aged 18 to 29 would take to work for a socially responsible company is 5.6 per cent and for those 30 to 39 years old seven per cent.

Only 21 per cent of Canadians could identify a company they believe to be socially responsible and one in three Canadians (31 per cent) rated the job Canadian corporations are doing being socially responsible as either excellent (three per cent) or good (28 per cent). Forty-two per cent said corporations in Canada were neither good nor poor while 16 per cent rated them as poor (13 per cent) or very poor (3 per cent).

"It is clear that businesses need to change the way they are doing things to ensure their continued viability and growth," adds Dave Donaldson, dean of the School of Business at Algonquin College. "Socially responsible organizations make more money, it's as easy as that.”

The survey also found six in 10 Canadians are willing to spend more for products and services from socially responsible companies. On average, Canadians said they would spend $8.62 more on a $100 product or service from a socially responsible company.