'Very strong link' between ESG performance and employees investing in share plans

'Effective motivational tool'

There is a ‘very strong link' between how a company performs in ESG terms and the willingness of its workers to enrol in share ownership plans, academics have found.

A paper titled 'Altruism or Self-Interest? ESG and Participation in Employee Share Plans' published by leading French business school HEC, did a deep dive into the topic and found that employee share ownership acts as an effective motivational tool and savings vehicle for employees. The academics also found that doubling the number of negative ‘ESG incidents' an employer is associated with reduces the likelihood of workers investing in their employer's shares by more than 15%, and decreases the amount they invest by €350 (£311) on average. The term 'ESG incidents' refers to negative r...