A new trend to add to the lexicon of “quitting,” “climate quitters” belong to the category of workers who decide to leave a job for environmental reasons. Testimonials.
In a way, “environmental resignation” is a sub-branch of “conscious quitting,” the act of leaving one’s job if one’s values are not or no longer aligned with those of the employee, in the sense that it attributes resignation specifically to an environmental factor. In the Net Positive Employee Barometer 2023, these were the factors considered for accepting or rejecting a job:
- Salary and benefits: 93%;
- Approach to well-being and work-life balance: 93%;
- Values: 88%;
- Commitment to economic equality: 79%;
- Commitment to social equality: 75%;
- Commitment to the environment: 73%
In light of these results, it’s understood that the environmental reason doesn’t come at the top of the list, far from it. Even though this concern is making its way into the minds of workers.
A Mix of Reasons
It must be acknowledged that it’s sometimes difficult to clearly define the reasons for leaving a job. The case of Véronique, a human resources professional, provides a good example. A few years ago, she resigned from a job in the greater Montreal area because it was too far from her home.
“I accepted a fairly well-paying job, which would have been a big step forward in my career, without considering the fact that I would have to travel more than 35 kilometers in traffic, morning and evening,” she says.
That’s 70 kilometers a day. The carbon footprint is therefore not negligible. However, it was mainly the impact on her quality of life that weighed in her decision to resign.
“After 11 months, I realized that it was not realistic at all,” she says. “Public transportation took far too much time. And I had to leave home at 6 a.m. and return at 7 p.m. just to have less traffic.”
The HR professional found a job closer to her home, with a lower salary and responsibilities.
“I continued to progress in my career, nevertheless,” she assures. “It was a step back to propel me forward later on.”
When Your Employer Pollutes
Beyond environmental commitment, there is also the nature of the company’s activities, which can influence the choice to continue or leave a job. As engineers, will we accept to work for an oil company, a mining company, or in other sectors with a heavy carbon footprint? Industrial engineer Éric (fictional name) was faced with the decision to work for a manufacturer of rubber parts, including tires, conveyor belts, and transmission belts.
“It raised environmental questions for me, not to mention the issue of working conditions during the extraction of raw materials. These materials are not recyclable or integrable into a circular economy. There is an awareness of the harmful and polluting nature of the activities in this sector, but the few giants in the sector are not willing to do much, except try to improve their image,” he regrets.
In 2021, he decided to broaden his horizons and move to another job.
“I’m still in a sector related to industrial engineering, welded mechanics, but without rubber involved. I also redirected myself more towards information system management and cybersecurity, which have been a long-standing interest for me,” he explains.
For Éric, environmental resignation has explosive potential:
“If we were to ask questions and resign for environmental reasons, I believe there would be several industries in free fall!”
We’re not there yet. But the trend is certainly one to follow.
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