'As extreme weather-related events become more frequent and widespread… employers are going to have to respond'
For Canada in 2023, the degree of devastation from climate change “was difficult to comprehend,” according to David Phillips, senior climatologist at Statistics Canada, in a report about the top 10 weather stories.
Along with causing heartache and financial challenges for the people impacted, these crises can also have an impact on employers and the workforce.
Thirty-seven per cent of employers saw a severe impact on staff displacement and productivity following environmental or climate-related risks, according to a Gartner survey in 2023.
And the challenges are only getting bigger: Between 2010 and 2019, the U.S. experienced an average of 13.1 weather/climate disaster events, with losses exceeding $1 billion per year. From 2019 to 2023, this number increased to an average of 20.4 per year, according to the National Centres for Environmental Information.
As climate disasters become more frequent, it will become a necessity for employers to provide some form of benefits to employees to help them deal with climate change, said Jennifer Robertson, associate professor, DAN Department of Management and Organizational Studies at the University of Western Ontario.
“Unfortunately, as extreme weather-related events become more frequent and widespread, humans are going to be more impacted by climate change, and employers are going to have to respond because it will affect the workforce and, therefore, affect organizations,” she said.
Climate change benefits for employees
Offering climate change protection benefits is not overly prevalent; however, awareness about the need for them is increasing, as is the conversation surrounding what these benefits could look like, Robertson said.
Those benefits could mean “helping to ease anxieties or directly helping employees who have been impacted by a climate change-related natural disaster,” she said.
Climate change benefits could consist of employers providing paid time off (PTO) for those who have to deal with or leave their homes due to a climate-related disaster, and could extend to arranging alternative accommodations or relocations if necessary. Employers could also help employees deal with the aftermath of such events or provide subsidies so employees could purchase, for example, air purifiers and masks to help with poor air quality, Robertson said.
Offering mental health resources can also support employees, she said.
“There’s talk, now, about providing mental health resources for employees to deal with any eco-anxiety, which we are seeing increase, especially amongst younger people. As part of a wellness program, organizations can provide mental health resources for dealing with these anxieties or for employees who have experienced a natural disaster, as there can be a lot of trauma associated with that.
“So mental health resources can help employees cope when they're psychologically impacted.”
Offering consistent benefits
While climate change benefits may be offered differently in different locations — due to some places being more prone to natural disasters than others — ideally, an organization would offer benefits to all locations to show the company cares about its employees, Robertson said.
“Practically, organizations might need to take that into consideration, how frequent climate change-related natural disasters are happening in certain locations, which could make certain locations more costly than ever. However, generally, it’s a good idea to offer these benefits to all employees regardless of location because as we are seeing these events become more widespread and frequent, some locations may not be heavily affected now, but they may be in the future.”
Offering consistent benefits goes hand in hand with ensuring that these offerings are not disingenuous but are actually put into practice, said Chelsea Willness, professor, Haskayne School of Business, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources at the University of Calgary. Living up to the promises of these benefits is also essential for employer reputation.
“Employers need to consider what makes these sustainability or climate change initiatives genuine or authentic and what are the components of that perception of authenticity, while showing evidence of practices or actions, as opposed to just talking about it,” she said.
ROI of climate change benefits
Offering climate change benefits can also help attract new talent. Organizations that have a reputation for positive environmental, social, or community practices may be attractive to prospective employees, Willness said.
Having specific considerations for climate change protection can set an organization apart from another employer, creating a competitive advantage. However, as this becomes more of a topic of conversation, these benefits my come to be expected, she said.
“These benefits may come to pass in a few years as they become the norm, but that change probably won't happen that quickly. So right now, it could be a competitive advantage, and particularly for those who value it, I think that could definitely be attractive,” Willness said.
With employees becoming more environmentally conscious, especially among younger generations, employees are looking to organizations to be more environmentally responsible and may seek out organizations that demonstrate some level of environmental responsibility, Robertson said.
“Demonstrating to employees that an organization has climate change protection benefits or benefits that promote positive environmental behaviour can make them more competitive in terms of recruitment and allow them to be able to select more highly skilled employees because they have that greater pool of candidates.”
In locations experiencing high rates of climate change-related disasters, when these disasters occur, they cause increase absenteeism, lost productivity and increased health care costs, Robertson said. So, offering these benefits makes sense from a business perspective as well to help mitigate some of the impacts these events have on business productivity.
Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours
While few organizations currently offer climate change benefits, more organizations are implementing benefits and programs that promote pro-environmental behaviour among employees, Robertson said.
Whether employers are reducing the organization’s carbon footprint, providing subsidies for employees to purchase bikes or providing free electric vehicle charging stations for employees, environmentally conscious practices are becoming more of a consideration for HR, she said.
“As we see more benefits aimed at promoting pro-environmental behaviour, we’re also going to see that help employers and employees deal with climate change.”
