Macro, Micro and "Me"

US Insights Introduction     All Local Insights     Global Insights

US executives are under increasing pressure to help mend the social, economic and ecological fault lines that divide our collective societies. Yet with such a complex set of threats to navigate, how should leaders prioritize action?  

When setting sustainability strategies, leaders should focus on the issues that matter most to their business and those they have the greatest chance of positively influencing. Beyond this, it is critical to acknowledge and respond to the issues that employees care about.  

In our study, US employees have the most diverse priorities when it comes to social issues. When asked about the top issues facing the future of society, they cited a wide range of concerns, from pandemics, climate change and pollution to corruption, economic inequalities, social and racial injustices. By comparison, their global peers typically focused their attention on just two or three key priorities.

Top 10 Sustainability Issues Affecting Future of Society (US)

Our research also indicated an opportunity for C-suite leaders to better understand the issues that matter to employees. When asked about the top issues facing their workplace, US employees cited a shortage of workers with in-demand skills as a top concern. Yet this topic only ranked in ninth place for C-suite leaders. Similarly, C-suite leaders do not share employees’ concerns about economic inequalities.  

Top 10 Sustainability Issues Affecting Your Employer and Workplace (US)

Rank of percent selecting each item as top 3 issue (from list of 16 issues)

Employee views count. As we have seen with the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the Great Resignation, employees are often accurate bellwethers for systemic issues that are not yet on the C-suite’s radar. Leaders who invest in the tools to listen to—and respond to—their frontline workers will benefit not only from a better understanding of societal issues, but a better-engaged workforce.  

Leaders in the US now face a delicate balancing act. Those who simultaneously focus on global megatrends and employees’ concerns around talent scarcity and economic rifts will stand the best chance of securing buy-in for their sustainability strategies. Dexterous communication plans will also be critical to fostering engagement.