Frontline employees are ready to accept smart energy-saving technologies, especially when they are engaged at work and when they are concerned about climate change

Abstract

As major carbon emitters, organisations have an important role to play in tackling the climate change crisis and reducing energy waste. To date, the contribution of occupational psychology to reducing carbon emissions has been limited, but there are increasing opportunities to direct our competencies towards helping build more environmentally sustainable organisations. The emergence of new technologies such as smart-apps provides a potential tool for helping workers reduce energy use, however there is little understanding of employees’ willingness to adopt these technologies. We surveyed frontline workers in retail (N = 402) and healthcare (N = 402) sectors to understand their readiness to accept mobile energy saving applications in their workplace. The results show that overall, there is strong readiness among employees to accept and use these technologies. Additionally, readiness to accept mobile energy saving applications at work is strongest for employees with higher work engagement or higher concern for climate change risks. We discuss the applied implications of these findings for occupational psychology practitioners to help organisations become more sustainable.