Who are “the transferrers”?
When environmental practices reshape the traditional divide between personal and professional spheres
The SOCIOCUBE study of individual behavior in organizations has revealed the existence of individuals who act as relays for the adoption of new environmental practices at work and at home.
Concretely, this means that there are transpositions of environmental practices simultaneously:
- From home to work, for employees who act in line with the environmental practices they already apply at home, aimed at greater sobriety and reduced consumption;
- From work to home for individuals whose job is linked to sustainable development issues or for those who are aware of sustainable uses through participation in a “low-carbon transition” action program such as CUBE. These employees try to apply the knowledge acquired in the field of sustainable development in their personal life.
The “TRANSPHERES” study originates in these field observations
“TRANSPHERES” analyzes the potential for transfers of environmental practices between the private and professional spheres to qualify the role these transfers can take in the low-carbon transition.
The study focuses on tertiary office users (46% of the national population) and covers mobility, energy, food and waste topics. It is structured around :
- An exploratory sociological survey of “transferor” employees (see conclusions here). The survey is based on interviews with employees, contextualization interviews with their colleagues, managers and CSR referents, as well as self-observation via a “book” (photos and comments) of the respondent’s environmental practices at home.
- A psycho-sociological survey conducted among hundreds of employees in various organizations. This phase included the organization of “test” days, allowing employees to experiment with new environmental practices.
The study was conducted by Delphine Labbouz, PhD in social psychology, Gaëtan Brisepierre, human sciences laboratory EPSYLON, coordinated by the IFPEB (French Institute for Buildings’ Performance) and financed by ADEME.