Ecological Obstinacy: Work Orientations in the context of Climate Change

In the wake of climate change and its political management, many sectors of the economy are undergoing profound transformations that give rise to a range of diverse and complex socio-ecological conflicts. Against this backdrop, it is crucial to understand the attitudes of different groups of employees toward climate change, as well as their specific capacities and limitations in shaping socio-ecological transformation.As a fundamental part of daily life, work plays a significant role in shaping the identities and normative orientations of individuals. At the same time, work is the central interface of society's metabolism with nature and is increasingly affected — both directly and indirectly — by the impacts of climate change. However, the relationship between labor processes and environmental orientations remains largely unexplored. Based on case studies from four different sectors, each with characteristic labor processes (care, construction, forestry, and energy supply), the project develops a typology of distinct work-related environmental orientations regarding climate change and the measures taken to address it. Adopting a praxeological lens, the practical, action-based orientations of employees come to the fore and produce a differentiated picture of environmental orientations.