In the 20th century, labor activists fought for higher pay and better working conditions, but these days, as The Wall Street Journal explains, many workers are pressuring management to become better corporate citizens.
Employees, especially younger ones, increasingly expect the places where they work to reflect their moral, cultural and political values, and they are becoming more vocal in their demands—often using social media and online job-discussion forums—when they feel employers fall short.
Workers are “turning to other employees or to social media when corporate values are not being followed,” says Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist for public relations firm Weber Shandwick. And “corporate reputation can find itself on shaky ground if no one is taking the employee pulse or feedback seriously.”
Nearly 50% of millennials say they have recently spoken out either in support or in criticism of their employer’s actions on a controversial issue, according to a May survey by Weber Shandwick. In contrast, one in three Generation X workers and a quarter of baby boomers say they’ve done the same. A common thread among all demographics is a majority saying the goal was to influence company policies and business decisions or to raise concerns about their employer’s reputation.
