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. 2024 Dec 4:18:11786302241298788.
doi: 10.1177/11786302241298788. eCollection 2024.

The Role of Organizational Behavior to Sustainable Health Care: The Case of Greece

Anastasios Sepetis  1 , Ioannis Parlavatzas  2 , Paraskevi N Zaza  3 , Charalampos Platis  4 , Rizos Fotios  1 , Ioannis E Nikolaou  5
Affiliations

The Role of Organizational Behavior to Sustainable Health Care: The Case of Greece

Anastasios Sepetis et al. Environ Health Insights. .

Abstract

The role healthcare systems can play in surmounting global challenges like climatic change and resource scarcity is large, considering the major social and environmental impact. The research investigates the role of organizational behavior in influencing the adoption of sustainability initiatives in Greek healthcare organizations in regard to climate change. The research surveys 379 healthcare professionals from the public and private sectors with regard to organizational attitudes toward climate change, the adoption of sustainable practices, and individual environmental perspectives. Results underline that health care administration is still cut off from environmental considerations, with limited employee involvement in such initiatives of sustainability. The major barriers were poor communication, lack of education, and inadequate awareness across institutions. The study also emphasized that healthcare organizations need to align their values with environmental strategy so they can work in unison toward seeking sustainability. These would be stimulating initiatives for more leadership and active staff who become involved in making meaningful contributions toward global sustainability from the healthcare sector.

Keywords: Environmental health; Greece; business behavior; green hospital; organizational leadership; sustainable healthcare.

Plain language summary

Amidst global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity, the health sector plays a pivotal role in promoting social well-being and environmental sustainability. However, achieving sustainability goals necessitates more than simply adopting environmentally friendly practices; it requires a profound shift in organizational behavior towards a holistic and integrated approach. This study scrutinizes the critical role of organizational behavior in terms of management’s perception of climate change, the way a health organization operates in relation to staff mobilization and the views of its own staff always with climate change in mind and its effects. An analysis of a sample of 379 health professionals through a relevant questionnaire from the public and private sectors of the healthcare industry in Greece revealed a significant degree of detachment of the administrations from environmental concerns, with the simultaneous absence of motivation of the staff on corresponding issues, while negative was the health workers’ overall perception of climate, showing significant challenges in communication in addition to education and awareness within the organization. Overall, this research provides a window into the adoption of Organizational Behavior principles by healthcare organizations in order to ensure their sustainability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Bar chart for the question “What has taken place in recent years for your organization to take actions and measures on climate change.”
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Bar chart for the question “What has taken place in recent years for your organization to take actions and measures on climate change,” according to work sector (public sector).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Bar chart for the question “What has taken place in recent years for your organization to take actions and measures on climate change,” according to work sector (private sector).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Boxplot for the average grade for the Climate Change Incentive Actions section according the work sector.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Boxplot for the average grade for the Climate Change Incentive Actions section according the service in which participants work.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Boxplot for the average grade for the section “Personal Attitudes on the Climate” according the service in which participants work.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Boxplot for the average grade for the section “Personal Attitudes on the Climate” according education level.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Boxplot for the average grade for the section “Personal Attitudes on the Climate” according the job position of the participants.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Boxplot for the average grade for the Climate Change Incentive Actions section according the size of the organization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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