Survey: Few Job Seekers Care About CSR Initiatives

August 15, 2007

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Three-quarters of U.S. workers think companies have responsibilities to the community, but 70 percent don’t consider a prospective employer’s corporate social responsibility program very important when it comes to evaluating job offers. In fact, only seven percent of today’s work force claims that they have ever rejected an offer based on the lack of a company’s CSR program, according to (Exel data set) a survey by recruitment company Hudson.

Even if employees do not base job decisions on CSR programs, 46 percent believe it is very important for an organization to have such an initiative. Furthermore, workers appreciate opportunities to invest in the community when they are given the chance. Among the 46 percent of workers who work for an organization with a CSR program, nearly two-thirds participate. Only 20 percent of workers state their employer allows them paid time off to volunteer. But of those, 70 percent take advantage of it.

As many might suspect, formal CSR programs are more prevalent at large companies. Fifty-eight percent of respondents who work for a company with 500+ employees state their firm has a CSR program, compared to 45 percent of all workers. About one-third of workers at companies with less than 100 employees say the same. Additionally, 82 percent of workers at large companies indicate that the organization arranges volunteer activities, versus 70 percent of all workers.

Recent research from Cone found that more than two-thirds of Americans say they consider a company’s business practices when deciding what to buy, while American workers in increasing numbers say they want their employers to support a social cause or issue.

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