Is climate change lowering workplace morale? Heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods and increasingly volatile “weather events” are bringing the climate crisis into the everyday lives of Canadians. Are they in turn bringing climate concerns into the workplace?
A 2025 survey of 2,020 Canadian employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) found that 59 per cent are concerned about the environment. Twenty-nine per cent reported consequences on their work performance. The research was conducted by the Université Laval’s Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-Management and Work, powered by Beneva.
Concern is much higher among younger workers. In its guide based on the Laval survey results, Eco-Anxiety in the Workplace: Shifting from helplessness to hope, Beneva reports that employees under age 35 feel much more anxious, afraid or angry about the environment than their older counterparts. The guide cites additional research, conducted by Université Laval in 2023, that found 78 per cent of Canadians aged 16 to 25 reported the climate crisis is affecting their mental health.
Outside of Canada, recent research by the European Union’s European Environment made the physiological link between pollution and mental health. Its March 2026 press release states: “Outdoor air pollution during critical stages of brain development—for example in utero, childhood and early adolescence—is associated with structural and functional brain changes.” Its findings also found “positive effects of nature-based solutions on mental wellbeing.”
While current evidence indicates that eco-anxiety is not yet a major threat to productivity and performance, experts are encouraging employers to stay ahead of the problem before it takes a bigger toll in the workplace. Particularly since the 2025 Laval survey also found that only 18 per cent of employees perceive their workplace has a culture that supports the environment. “The perception is that most organizations have no clear policies, visible practices and implemented projects concerning the environment,” states the Beneva report.
With all this in mind, Benefits Alliance Voice explored what SMEs can do in a recent podcast with Simon Coulombe of Université Laval, one of the lead researchers of the 2025 study.
Include climate in daily business and strategy. Reserve time at the end of group meetings for a climate discussion about what can be done to reduce waste or conduct business more sustainably. He advised “opening it up with something positive and concrete” but also asking outright, “Do you feel we’re doing enough? And if not, is it creating some concerns?”
Raise awareness of green initiatives. People value employers who are trying to act more sustainably, but the researchers found that “they often feel that their employer is not doing enough, or that what’s happening at work is not aligned with their environmental values,” Coulombe said. Employers can try to have clearer environmental strategies that align with younger workers’ values and “make them feel that they are respected and that their concerns are legitimate.”
Coordinate efforts. Coulombe noted that aspects of stress may traditionally be handled by different departments, with one overseeing occupational health and safety while another focuses on well-being and a third on environmental, social and governance. “Eco-anxiety is one topic in which I think we should encourage more collaboration between these different departments,” he said. Collaboration can build and reinforce an organization-wide approach to addressing the climate concerns.
Acknowledge people’s fears. Create a space where “people experiencing eco-anxiety can express themselves, but also promote small, tangible ways that people can act in an environmentally responsible way,” he said. Participation in individual or organizational efforts can be empowering and reassuring. In addition, employers’ efforts to destigmatize feelings of eco-anxiety can give people who feel overwhelmed the confidence to ask for outside help.
