“That is Not What I Live For”: How Lower-Level Green Employees Cope with Identity Tensions at Work

Abstract

Research on green identity work has so far concentrated on sustainability managers and/or top-management actors. How lower-level green employees cope with identity tensions at work is, as yet, under-researched. The paper uses an identity work perspective and a qualitative empirical study to identify four strategies that lower-level employees use in negotiating and enacting their green identities at work. Contrary to expectations, lower-level green employees engage substantially in job crafting as a form of identity work despite their limited discretion. In addition, the study demonstrates that lower-level green employees make use of identity work strategies that uphold rather than diminish perceived misalignment between their green identities and their job context.

Green jobs and education: analytics and paradoxes

“…At the same time, based on international experience, it can be argued that the transition to a green economy changes the qualitative characteristics of employment. Thus, according to research by foreign scientists, environmentally friendly jobs require workers with a higher level of education, work experience and highly qualified training compared to those who work in green jobs [4]. For example, the Finnish company Paptic, which employs only 10 people, has developed an environmentally friendly technology for the production of easily recyclable packaging paper based on cellulose and bioplastics, replacing conventional polyethylene [15].…”

“…All developed cоuntrіes аlsо wоrk іn the dіrectіоn of planet saving, so green economy as well. Іn Spаіn, fоr exаmple, the Gоvernment hаs prоpоsed а Clіmаte Chаnge аnd Energy Trаnsіtіоn Lаw thаt аіms tо аchіeve clіmаte neutrаlіty by 2050 аnd іncоrpоrаtes аmbіtіоus іntermedіаte tаrgets fоr emіssіоns, renewаbles аnd іmprоved energy effіcіency [4]. The UK іndustry wіll аlsо receіve £350m іnvestment tо cut cаrbоn emіssіоns іn sectоrs such аs trаnspоrt аnd cоnstructіоn.…”

“…Green jоbs аlsо becоme pоpulаr due tо prіncіples оf the green recоvery thаt іs the pаrt оf the mаіn pоlіtіcаl prоjects іn the Eurоpeаn Unіоn. The Eurоpeаn Unіоn (EU) hаs nоw аnnоunced the Eurоpeаn Green Deаl [4]. Eurоpe hаs аlreаdy lіnked іts future wіth green jоbs аnd technоlоgy.…”

Green, keen, and somewhere in between: An employee environmental segmentation study

“…Current literature focuses disproportionately on the antecedents of these behaviors (Chou, 2014;Lee & Ha-Brookshire, 2020;Mi et al, 2020;Papagiannakis & Lioukas, 2018), and not enough on what employees value, believe, (Blazejewski, Dittmer, Buhl, Barth, & Herbes, 2020;Ciocirlan, 2017), or feel regarding corporate environmental responsibility (CER) (Aggarwal & Singh, 2022;Duarte & Mouro, 2022). Employees' perceptions about organizational fit (Hicklenton, Hine, & Loi, 2019) and their stable traits, such as personality, are insufficiently studied in organizational environmentalism (Kim, Kim, Han, Jackson, & Ployhart, 2017;Szostek, 2021;Zacher, Rudolph, & Katz, 2023).…”

“…Typology research, especially, needs more emphasis on employees situated at any level, not necessarily managerial (Hejjas et al, 2019), because most research depicts employees as mere enforcers of orders from their superiors (Blazejewski et al, 2020). Additionally, more research on employee heterogeneity needs to be conducted in non-manufacturing industry sectors and in different organizational and industry contexts (Hejjas et al, 2019;Zierler, Wehrmeyer, & Murphy, 2017).…”