Employers have an obligation to ensure that their workers’ health and safety are taken into account, to safeguard the future stability of a company (Gimenez, Sierra and Rodon, 2019). The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) focuses on three aspects for sustainability: people, the planet and profit (social, environmental and economic). The overall purpose is for a company to not solely focus on one aspect and therefore ensure sustainability across multiple aspects of a business. Pryor (2019), alludes to the TBL concept being a focus on stakeholder rather than that of shareholders.
Social
Serious consideration into employee’s health, happiness, wellbeing and economic status in regard to living standards must be a central focus by employers to fulfil the social aspect of the TBL. In respect of minimum wage employers must take into account the social side of TBL as well. It is easy to argue to simply not raise the minimum wage as employers will have to incur more expenses, but employers have to weigh in the facts and see the benefits to employees if minimum wage is raised. This is particularly important as employees are at the forefront of any company’s ability to survive long term. A study done by Merriman, Kimberly and Sen (2012) found that incentives such as pay rises motivated employee’s production levels significantly and overall saved money in production and running cost of the business. The study found that workers were happier to show up to work and felt a sense of belonging in the workplace. This is a significant finding that highlights the advantages in the rise in minimum wage from the perspective of an employer and show how raising the wage benefits employee health and wellbeing.
Steven Ho Academic Communication 