Can dissatisfaction be a force for good in the sustainability career movement?
⚖️I have been struck recently by the shift of motivation amongst mid career professionals looking to make a move into the climate and sustainability space.
The balance between wanting to do meaningful work to make the world a better place (the PULL factors) and wanting to leave their current roles due to dissatisfaction, disillusionment and lack of purpose (the PUSH factors) has been shifting more to the PUSH than PULL.
🔥Whilst the recognition of the polycrisis we have made for ourselves increases (today’s news of a year spent above the 1.5 degree target set in Paris, for example) it is not this which is driving the move toward sustainability as a viable career switch.
It seems that the majority or people I speak to are searching, seeking, and exploring ways OUT of their current circumstances and sustainability is almost the defacto option
🚪The post pandemic era has been characterised by the ”Great Reshuffle” movement wherein millions of employees are seeking jobs that provide them with an improved work-life balance and a stronger sense of purpose, the “Quiet Quitting” trend of professionals recognising the futility of chasing corporate goals and refusing to put their own mental health on the line for ‘going the extra mile’, and by “Conscious Quitting” whereby employees are walking out on organisations with poor ESG performance.
☀️If you are experiencing “The PUSH”, as characterised by the above, I wanted to share a ray of hope from ‘the other side’. A recent survey by the excellent Workonclimate group found that of the people working in the sustainability sector :
90% said “I have found my place working on climate solutions”
86% said “I see the direct impact my job has on combatting climate change”
And, encouragingly 81% said “There are climate jobs in every profession”
Sound good? The grass really is greener! (not because it has been fertilised with CO2 intensive nitrates, jus’ sayin’ 🙂)
Happily the UN forecasts the requirement of sustainability related jobs to grow by 24M by in the next 5 years, that 99% (!!!) of these are not currently filled, and that it is the world’s second fastest growing employment sector.
So, not only is the grass greener, but there is plenty of space for you.
