Purpose Employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment (OCBEs), based on informal initiatives that are neither imposed nor recognized in the workplace, can significantly impact the organization’s environmental performance. While general attitudes and beliefs of employees have been previously studied in the academic literature, multiple niche constructs that could explain such behaviors from a non-rational standpoint remain underexplored. Thus, the study aims to assess the relationship between employees’ psychological distance (PD) from climate change (i.e. the perceived distance between oneself and future consequences), their personal norms (i.e. a feeling of moral obligation to act), and their OCBEs. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was sent to employees of a large Canadian financial institution. A total of 1,302 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modelling. Findings The results of this study show that PD regarding climate issues is significantly associated with employees’ sense of environmental responsibility and personal norms. However, it is these personal norms—and not PD itself—that show the strongest direct links with voluntary pro-environmental behaviors at work. Practical implications This study outlines several practical implications for strengthening employees’ involvement in organizational environmental initiatives, such as tailoring communication and education efforts to their PD from climate change. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on OCBEs and climate change practices by showing how employees’ perceived distance from climate change is associated with their pro-environmental behaviors in organizations. It offers a new theoretical perspective for studying employees’ OCBEs, along with practical implications and avenues for future research.
Boivin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.