Should you Share Bills with Employees?
November 9, 2008 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Business
Recently, Environmental Leader posted a story about Envirowise, a company from the UK urging small business owners to share their utility bills with employees to motivate them to go green while at work. I’m not 100% on board with that idea. It might work for some, but review this list of pros and cons before sharing your bills:
Pros to Bill Sharing
- Promotion of responsible action (ie, shutting down computers, using company recycling bins, etc)
- Sense of unity among employees to reach a common goal
- Trust in the company
Cons to Bill Sharing
- Distracts employees from other work
- Raises concerns about confidentiality
- Identity theft
The last to “cons” especially worry me. If you’re going to share your bills, make sure your employees sign a confidentiality agreement, and furthermore, before you pass out copies for them to review, hide any information (like account numbers) that could pose identity theft problems in the future. Yes, people can steal a business identity, and yes, employees or former employees may very well use this information against you.
Sharing bills can definitely help your business move forwards in a green way, but please do so with caution. In some cases, this isn’t the best choice for your business.
Do you share your company bills with employees? Leave a comment below!
