Workplace greenery and employee green behavior: a moderated-mediation model

Abstract

Purpose

The implementation of sustainable corporate policies and practices requires that employees engage in green behavior. Understanding the drivers of employee green behavior (EGB) is a fundamental research question. This paper aims to extend the scholarship on the micro-foundations of EGB by examining workplace greenery as an antecedent of EGB.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from theories in environmental psychology (biophilic design, well-being and nature relatedness [NR]), the paper studies the mediating role of well-being and the moderating role of employee nature-relatedness in a three-wave panel study, conducted nine months apart in a sample of white-collar workers.

Findings

Workplace greenery influences the green behavior of employees; whereas the effect is direct for employees with low NR, for employees high in this trait the effect is mediated by well-being.

Practical implications

Workplace greenery emerges as a practical environmental cue that contributes to achieving the environmental goals of the company reducing its environmental impact. Organizations may consider investing in creating greener workspaces as it implies a double dividend: for employees with stronger environmental identities, these plants enhance well-being and indirectly foster green behavior, but it will encourage green behavior in employees without such an identity.

Social implications

The insights provided about the complex interplay between workplace greenery, NR, well-being and environmental behavior can guide the development of targeted and more strategic workplace interventions that foster greener and happier employees and organizations.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the micro-foundations of EGB in three ways. First, it reveals that workplace greenery, an under-researched organizational factor, may be used as a cultural artifact to promote green behavior among employees. Second, it enriches the authors’ understanding of the psychological mechanisms leading to EGB. Finally, it expands on the individual determinants of EGB, underscoring the importance of considering NR in green human resource management.Purpose

The implementation of sustainable corporate policies and practices requires that employees engage in green behavior. Understanding the drivers of employee green behavior (EGB) is a fundamental research question. This paper aims to extend the scholarship on the micro-foundations of EGB by examining workplace greenery as an antecedent of EGB.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from theories in environmental psychology (biophilic design, well-being and nature relatedness [NR]), the paper studies the mediating role of well-being and the moderating role of employee nature-relatedness in a three-wave panel study, conducted nine months apart in a sample of white-collar workers.

Findings

Workplace greenery influences the green behavior of employees; whereas the effect is direct for employees with low NR, for employees high in this trait the effect is mediated by well-being.

Practical implications

Workplace greenery emerges as a practical environmental cue that contributes to achieving the environmental goals of the company reducing its environmental impact. Organizations may consider investing in creating greener workspaces as it implies a double dividend: for employees with stronger environmental identities, these plants enhance well-being and indirectly foster green behavior, but it will encourage green behavior in employees without such an identity.

Social implications

The insights provided about the complex interplay between workplace greenery, NR, well-being and environmental behavior can guide the development of targeted and more strategic workplace interventions that foster greener and happier employees and organizations.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the micro-foundations of EGB in three ways. First, it reveals that workplace greenery, an under-researched organizational factor, may be used as a cultural artifact to promote green behavior among employees. Second, it enriches the authors’ understanding of the psychological mechanisms leading to EGB. Finally, it expands on the individual determinants of EGB, underscoring the importance of considering NR in green human resource management.