The impact of sustainability at the workplace on the employee’s motivation and satisfaction

Abstract

This article focuses on the impact of sustainable efforts at the workplace on employees’ motivation and satisfaction. The focus is on the hospitality industry, represented in this case study by the Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. As sustainability is becoming increasingly  important in today’s society, this article investigates the effect of sustainability on hospitality staff. This research is exploratory in nature, with a qualitative  approach. Data was collected via eight in-person interviews. Subsequently, the data was analysed with thematic analysis as methodology.  Collected data was reduced to the essence of the interviewee’s meaning, which allowed for making meaningful conclusions. The study indicated that  sustainability is an essential topic for employees and creates a feeling of meaningfulness when sustainable initiatives are implemented in a workplace.  Furthermore, the interviewees mentioned that such efforts increase motivation and satisfaction at work. The willingness to be an active part of such  strategies was confirmed. This study found that employees see sustainability as a tool for motivation and that it is advantageous for employers to focus  on initiatives that are focused on sustainability. Furthermore, the communication of such initiatives should be increased, and employees should also have  the chance to be included in the idea finding, planning and implementation of such efforts.