Business leaders urged to engage workers in climate action

WITH most Filipinos having to deal with rising consumer prices aggravated by expensive fuel due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is not surprise that the new Marcos administration is faced with rising unemployment and higher cost of living, according to audit and consultancy firm Deloitte Philippines.

In its recent study, Deloitte disclosed that “with the global economy still on recovery mode and inflation rising in several countries, including the Philippines, trends have shown that financial concerns have exceeded health worries even as the continuing coronavirus pandemic rages on.

“Inflation recently hit 6.1 percent, the highest since 2018 and to boost their source of income, more than 60 percent of Filipino millennials and Gen Zs opt to take a second job, either part or full time work,” Deloitte chief-executive-officer Eric Landicho noted.

“The most popular side hustles for them are selling products or services online; consulting/running their own businesses; and doing child or pet care,” Landicho also gave mention. However, he pointed out that juggling more than one occupation, while probably necessary for millennials and Gen Zs to meet their financial obligations, could also be contributing to stress, anxiety, and feelings of being burned out (being experienced by most employees).”

The Deloitte executive likewise underscored that added to the financial crisis now being felt by most, problems triggered by climate change have started to emerge although the issue does not really make it as top concern among most Filipinos, particularly the youth.

Still, 82 percent of the local millennials and 84 percent of the Gen Zs claim to have been “personally affected by at least one severe weather event in the last 12 months.”

“Perhaps in terms of the more urgent concerns, climate change is lower on the list of young Filipinos, but we can’t deny that it is a crisis and that we all need to contribute to mitigating its effects,” he enthused.

In line with this, Gen Z and millennial Filipinos say they want more organizations to have additional investments for environmental sustainability, including the ban of single-use plastic products in the office, training for employees to learn how to help the environment and granting incentives for employees to employ sustainable measures.

“Climate action is one area where business leaders can and should actively engage their employees, because the youth understand the urgency of the situation and because enterprise-wide initiative is one sure way we can drive change at scale,” Landicho concluded.