Employees in 2022 have high expectations for environmentally friendly offices and expect more eco-friendly practices from their employers than in past years.

That’s according to new research from global hygiene and health company Essity, which surveyed employees who have returned to the office at least part-time.

The survey found that three in every four employees (75 per cent) say they want more environmentally friendly offices.

In addition, just over half of employees working from an office (51 per cent) say they became more eco-conscious while working from home during lockdown periods. Nearly the same proportion (46 per cent) say they now feel more aware of how “green” their workplace is than they were when they worked in the pre-pandemic office.

Many offices are not meeting their workers’ standards. Six in 10 (58 per cent) workers surveyed feel their office is “shamefully eco-unfriendly” and one-third (34 per cent) believe the introduction of eco-friendly practices within their workplace is often an afterthought.

The survey found that a majority of employees working in the office (71 per cent) feel it is the employees themselves who are leading the charge to make sustainable changes in the workplace rather than management. Over half (51 per cent) believe their employers need to better communicate the ways they intend to address sustainability in the workplace, and 56 per cent think their fellow employees could be doing more to make their office environmentally friendly.

When asked who should be responsible, reactions were mixed.

Roughly a third of survey respondents pointed to employers (32 per cent), but nearly as many (28 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively) said the onus should be on employees or split 50/50 between employers and employees.

As for how office managers and landlords can go about making offices more environmentally friendly, Essity suggests both businesses and workers can:

• Encourage office recycling and re-use initiatives, such as the use of recycled paper
• Look into eco-friendly product options, such as hygiene products and surface cleaners
• Upgrade facilities with digital solutions, such as dispensers that give cleaning teams access to real-time data.