EDITORIAL
>>> Is the only reason businesses are to make a profit? More and more bosses and employees think no. And it's a small revolution, says our columnist Nicolas Barré.
The Pact Act adopted in the spring invites companies that wish to define their "raison d'être". So it is tempting to see only a com operation. This is also what a majority of employees think, according to an Ifop survey conducted for the firm No Com, Tikehau and Essec. But what this survey reveals and which is more important, because it shows a profound evolution of the company, is that 75% of the employees think it important that their company fixes its own raison d'être and 77% consider that the business has a role to play in society, beyond its pure economic activity. In other words, there is not only profit in life. There is social utility, the environment and a number of values that go beyond the monetary logic.
The company, by the way, is less stigmatized than politicians or unions
Yes, its legitimacy is much stronger. After all, French companies create 1,000 jobs a day, it's not nothing. And employers have realized that there are benefits to be gained from taking into account the general interest in business activity: this is the key, for example, to attract young graduates who want to work in companies. companies that do not have as sole and unique engine the profit maximization. To make you want, the company must show that it is able to engage, for example to fight against climate change. But beware, employees, this is also what shows our survey, do not forgive if these commitments do not lead to concrete. The fine speeches are good, the proofs are better.