Social Issues in Business? Employees and Customers Are Supportive
Photo: Robin Erino/Pexels
Issues like social justice and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are frequently in news headlines these days. Legislators and cable news personalities make claims about these issues—how they impact businesses, how they affect the economy—but within companies themselves, where are the employee voices? It turns out, once taken into consideration, both employees and customers across the country have strong, and mostly positive, associations with social issues in business.
In 2024, Morning Consult and BSR, a sustainable business consultancy, polled over 2,200 adults with questions related to social justice, social policies, and employment. The results are eye-opening and prescient for businesses’ success in the future.
Employee Retention Tied to Company’s Social Policies and Communications
One of the clearest results in the survey revealed most American adults, two-thirds, consider things like a company’s response to social issues when deciding to stay or leave.
A total of 23% said it makes a “significant impact,” and another 42% declared it makes “somewhat of an impact.”
Source: BSR/Morning Consult
Just as benefits like the four-day work week increase employee retention, so too does a business that is aware of and responds to social issues.
The question, then, is how social issues in businesses should manifest for the business to be an active member of the community and a workplace where employees are satisfied.
When asked if they would be more or less likely to “work for a company that promotes social justice through workplace policies and practices,” like DEI trainings and leadership roles or pay transparency, nearly half of employed adults said more likely. This is a 3:1 margin over employed adults who are less likely to want to work for a company with these policies.
But employees don’t want their employers just looking inward.
Source: BSR/Morning Consult
As this graph shows, there is a significant difference between adults who would be more likely to work for companies that invest in local communities, donate to non-profits, practice public advocacy initiatives, and publicly take stances on social issues.
Many Green Business Network members, like Takoma Park Silver Springs Co-Op and fair-trade businesses working with global artisans and laborers, have established policies working with communities both locally and abroad.
Why LGBTQ Inclusivity Is Good for Business
What About Social Issues in Business and Consumers?
It is a similar story for consumers as it is for employees. When asked qualitatively how companies should promote and prioritize social justice, most consumers focused on the treatment and equal pay among employees, transparency on various issues, and community involvement.
Source: BSR/Morning Consult
When asked about specific issues, consumers consistently ranked cost of living, paid leave, gun violence, police brutality, and racism, as the most important issues they want companies to address and take a stance on.
In one of the largest margins in the survey results, nearly 7 to 1 adults strongly or somewhat agreed that companies should “be held accountable for their environmental impacts including air and water pollution.”
This is consistent with recent studies showing time and again that customers want the businesses they patronize to be sustainable and progressive. For every one adult surveyed, at least four said a company that promotes social justice would make them more loyal and view the company more favorably.
At Green America and the Green Business Network, social justice is a key part of what we mean when we say "green." Without social justice, we cannot achieve environmental justice.
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