A new jobs website has promised to provide only ‘good’ work and aims to get more people employed in sustainable industries.
Jobs for Good was set up in April but was given a boost as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) met this week to agree new plans to boost sustainability in employment.
The site pledges only to advertise jobs from employers that run their organisations responsibly, without a negative impact on people and the planet, and with progressive policies on hybrid working and staff benefits. Companies offering jobs on the site range from areas such as renewable energy, food production, ethical finance, and health and wellbeing solutions. All are vetted before vacancies are added to the site.
Job seekers can easily search by job type and impact area then read about the companies’ “do good” credentials, before applying for the job online, without needing to sign in. The jobs could be in sectors including IT, marketing, product, sales and admin roles.
The rising demand for ethically sound employment was the foundation stone for Jobs for Good, says its CEO Olivia Spaethe, as evidenced a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers finding that one in five people were likely to change jobs this year, with 68% of respondents wanting a more fulfilling role. Jobs for Good also cites UK government figures that show that the “impact industry” (UK impact tech startups are defined as companies founded to build solutions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals) is worth £50bn, employs 35,000 people and has grown 127% since 2018.
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Concern for the environment has also led to 10% of workers saying they’d take a pay cut to work for a company that was more responsible in terms of waste and pollution, according to a Fast Company report.
Spaethe said that the “great resignation” sparked ideas for the jobs site: “Originally we built Jobs For Good in response the great resignation’ and people looking for more fulfilling roles in sustainable companies. We’re really encouraged to see the UK government and OECD agreeing to invest and focus more on this area too. We’re here to plug an important gap between sustainable start-ups looking for new workers, and those workers looking for the right do-good company to work for.”
The UK chaired the first employment and labour ministerial OECD meeting since before the pandemic on 7 June.
The meeting focused on supporting careers for young people, as part of the OECD’s stated commitment to create “more diverse, sustainable, and robust labour markets”. Secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey said: “The importance of focusing on decent, sustainable and high-quality work for all was shared by international ministers around the table today, along with a commitment to promote life-long learning and build inclusivity in our workforce.”
She added: “As we move on from the pandemic, and face common issues in our labour markets, we must continue to work together to find united solutions and build a fairer and greener global economy.”
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