Environmentalism and Polish coal mining: A multilevel study

Abstract

This paper, drawing on a questionnaire survey conducted among 587 coal miners from six coal mines, seeks to ascertain whether the Polish coal mining industry is committed to organizational greening and whether its employees behave in environmentally responsible ways. Specifically, it explores-by means of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM)-the direct effects of green organizational climates on miners' pro-environmental conduct at home and at work. We found that climates had a direct effect on employee behavior in and outside the workplace, and that personal environmental values were positively related to the latter variable. However, it has to be admitted that the actual engagement of coal miners in voluntary pro-environmental action at work was not very deep. Crucially, it turned out that, in two coal mines, there were strong green climates, while the rest were weak, which suggests differences in terms of commitment to organizational greening throughout the industry. The present paper explores the significance of the results and highlights the applicability of our methodological approach to the study of employee involvement in organizational pro-environmental action.