Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education: Leveraging Human Behavior in Organizations (Psychology and Our Planet)

Sustainability is one of the most critical challenges facing humanity. Changing Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is crucial to overcoming that challenge because of their roles providing cutting edge knowledge and preparing our future citizens, workforce, and thought leaders. Many educational organizations are already leading the way toward sustainability, but a multitude of others still have substantial work to do. The field of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology offers a wealth of knowledge about human behavior within organizations that can support the changes essential for moving toward sustainability. This book serves as a one-stop-shop for individuals intent on engaging their HEIs in sustainability, but who have little experience with organizational change or have encountered barriers to progress. It synthesizes the empirical literature and describes through accessible prose the psychological principles to encourage structural, procedural, social, and behavioral changes in support of a socially just and environmentally sustainable future. Preface Acknowledgments Contents About the Authors Abbreviations Chapter 1: Sustainability, Higher Education, and Human Behavior 1.1 Sustainability Defined 1.2 The Role of Individuals Within Systems 1.3 The Role of Higher Education 1.4 The Psychology of Change 1.5 Conclusion References Chapter 2: Organizational Culture 2.1 What Is Organizational Culture? 2.1.1 Shared Values and Assumptions 2.1.2 How Do Values Influence Behavior? Formal Rules Social Norms 2.1.3 Cultural Artifacts Beyond the Artifacts 2.1.4 Subcultures 2.2 Why Does a Sustainable Culture Matter? 2.3 Creating a Sustainability Culture in HEIs 2.3.1 Signaling Values 2.3.2 Special Role of Human Resources 2.4 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Sustainability as a Shared Competency 3.1 What Is Sustainable Work Behavior? 3.1.1 Voluntary Behavior 3.1.2 Work Requirements 3.1.3 Moving from Individual to Systems Orientation 3.1.4 Sustainability as a Shared Core Competency 3.2 Aligning Behavior Through HRM Systems 3.2.1 Managing Sustainability Performance 3.2.2 Doing Performance Appraisal Well 3.3 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Finding and Hiring Sustainability Talent 4.1 Applicant Recruitment 4.1.1 Why It Is Important 4.1.2 How to Do It Well 4.2 Candidate Selection 4.2.1 Applications 4.2.2 Interviews 4.2.3 Work Samples and Situations 4.2.4 Psychological Measures Personality Future Time Perspective (FTP) Environmental Internal Locus of Control (ILOC) Person-Organization Fit Interests 4.3 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Developing Current Talent 5.1 New Employee Onboarding 5.2 What to Train 5.2.1 Awareness 5.2.2 Attitudes 5.2.3 Sustainability Literacy 5.3 Who Needs Training? 5.4 How to Train so People Learn 5.4.1 Psychological Principles Attention Encoding Retention Transfer of Training 5.5 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Unpacking Motivation 6.1 Internal Forces 6.1.1 Basic Human Needs Competence Relatedness Autonomy Self-Determination 6.1.2 Deliberate Choices Attitudes Subjective Norms Behavioral Control 6.2 Situational Forces 6.2.1 Antecedents 6.2.2 Consequences 6.2.3 Habits 6.3 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Managing Motivation 7.1 Using Incentives Wisely 7.2 Magnifying Motivation 7.2.1 Fairness 7.2.2 Goal Setting 7.2.3 Feedback 7.3 Making Work Meaningful 7.3.1 Job Characteristics 7.3.2 Job Crafting 7.4 Stages of Change 7.5 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Leadership 8.1 Defining Leadership 8.2 Leadership for Sustainability 8.2.1 Awareness 8.2.2 Collaboration 8.2.3 Resources 8.2.4 Resistance 8.3 Who Should Be Leading? 8.3.1 Top-Down 8.3.2 Bottom-Up 8.3.3 Middle-Out 8.4 Leadership Models for Change 8.4.1 Transformational Leadership Idealized Influence Inspirational Motivation Intellectual Stimulation Individualized Consideration 8.4.2 Authentic Leadership 8.4.3 Servant Leadership 8.4.4 Generative Leadership 8.4.5 Ecological Leadership 8.4.6 Shared Leadership 8.4.7 Toxic Leadership 8.5 Enhancing Sustainability Leadership in HEIs 8.5.1 Seeking New Leaders 8.5.2 Developing Current Leaders Preparing Leaders for Sustainability Work Preparing Sustainability Experts to Lead 8.6 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Organizational Change 9.1 Identify Gaps 9.2 Engage Diverse Stakeholders 9.3 Communicate Your Vision 9.4 Enable Human Change 9.4.1 Ability 9.4.2 Motivation 9.4.3 Opportunity 9.5 Engage Social Networks 9.6 Experiment 9.7 Assess Progress 9.8 Institutionalize Change 9.9 Conclusion References Chapter 10: This Is Hard 10.1 Physical and Emotional Tolls of Unsustainability 10.2 Stress at Work 10.2.1 Burnout 10.3 Attitudes and Motivational Experiences at Work 10.3.1 Job Satisfaction 10.3.2 Work Engagement 10.4 Fostering Resilience and Overall Well-Being 10.5 In Closing: The Ripple Effect of Change References Index