Tensions can run high in the workplace when it comes to environmental matters. This has been revealed in a North American survey released by Xerox to measure environmental consciousness in the workplace.
The survey found that work colleagues may have some strong objections to those who don't walk-the-green-talk at the office.
Results of the survey show that almost 40% of US respondents said their number one office environmental pet peeve was mindless printing resulting in abandoned pages at the printer, followed closely by leaving the lights on in unused offices (37%).
A review of the other top office pet peeves included:
* Lack of recycling bins (33%)
* Excessive air-conditioning or heating (29%)
* Excessive use of paper products - like plates and cups (27%)
* Co-workers who don't recycle (27%)
* Co-workers who print single-sided instead of double-sided documents (24%)
"As we talk with our customers, we often find that people are environmentally aware at home, but the office is still a breeding ground for bad habits," says Rob Abraham, MD of Bytes Document Solutions, distributor of Xerox in 24 African countries. "Yet, as this survey shows, it takes just a few small steps to make a big difference." Abraham has the following advice:
Use the technology available in the office to cut back on paper use, reduce waste and reduce energy consumption. That can mean simply setting the office printers to default to two-sided printing, which cuts office paper use in half.
Replace single-function printers and copiers with multifunction systems, as this slashes energy use.
Gender and generations
The survey, which polled 1 569 office workers across the US and Canada, revealed that US women (91%) consider themselves more eco-conscious than their male counterparts (86%).
Age had a noticeable effect on environmental consciousness too. Of US workers aged 18-34, 27% ranked themselves as "extremely" or "very green" versus the next generation of employees aged 35-44 (17%).
The full list
The top 10 environmental pet peeves among US office workers:
1. Mindless printing resulting in increased waste (40%)
2. Leaving lights on (37%)
3. Lack of recycling bins (33%)
4. Excessive air-conditioning in summer and heat in winter (29%)
5. Excessive use of paper products, like cups, plates, etc (27%)
6. Co-workers not recycling (27%)
7. Co-workers not printing double-sided when they can (24%)
8. Too many cover sheets when faxing or printing (24%)
9. Having to store paper copies of existing, electronic files (24%)
10. Leaving computer on and not powering down when going home (23%)
For smarter ways to "green" an office of any size, visit www.xerox.com/environment.
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Harris Interactive conducted the survey of 1 569 adults aged 18+ working in offices in Canada and the United States from 4 to 9 March 2008 on behalf of Xerox Corporation. Respondents were asked to rate their environmental consciousness and select which common office practices with negative environmental impact bothered them. The US data was collected online and weighted to be representative of the US adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, annual household income, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online.
Xerox Corporation
Xerox Corporation is the world's leading document management enterprise, providing the industry's broadest portfolio of colour and black-and-white document processing systems and related supplies as well as document management consulting and outsourcing services to businesses of any size.
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