A survey of employees across the commercial and non-profit sectors has found that most believe businesses only “pay lip service” to corporate and social responsibility, and fail to deliver on their promises.

Of those polled by Forum3, 95% said CSR is an important factor when assessing an organisation as a prospective employer. But despite this 91% say businesses are not delivering on the promises they make.

An overwhelming 96% said they would be more likely to accept a job from an organisation which has a proactive CSR policy, and more than half (58%) said they would be more likely to leave an organisation which does not.

But charities were not let off the hook – almost three quarters (73%) of those asked said the third sector should be doing more to help private sector organisations to adopt effective CSR programmes.

“This study leaves little doubt that CSR has become a fundamental issue for candidates considering a career move,” said Forum3 director Debbie Hockham. “Given that the majority of people believe the charity sector should be doing more to encourage CSR programmes, it seems greater collaboration across commercial and not-for-profit sectors is needed to make progress.”