Role-play on talking about workplace energy saving in a laboratory: transcript

Key points

• The interviewer opens by asking what energy-saving methods the worker already uses; the worker uses a coupler strip for the PC but forgets it in the evenings.
• The worker saves energy at home because it costs their own money, but sees no personal benefit at work.
• In the laboratory, the worker says nothing more can be done because the work must be quick and the results right.
• The interviewer suggests asking a colleague near the switch to turn off the lights.
• The idea of one central freezer instead of one per laboratory is rejected as too much walking and too complicated.
• The conversation ends with the worker saying priorities lie elsewhere and nothing will change.

Chapters

1. 0:06Opening: energy-saving methods already in use
2. 1:24Motivation at home versus at work
3. 2:26Laboratory priorities and switching off lights
4. 2:57The shared freezer proposal
5. 4:01Worker rejects any change

Full transcript

0:06Today, I would like to talk with you about possibilities to save energy. Okay. You work in a laboratory. There are some options that will certainly allow you to save energy. I not only work in a laboratory, but I also work in an office. These so-called options are always connected to large expenditures. Don't be so rash. First off, we should speak about the methods you already use to save energy. Can you think of some? Well, for example, I have set up my PC with a coupler strip, so that it is not running on standby the entire time, but if I'm in a hurry in the evenings, I don't always remember to do this.

0:45So it's not so important to you to save energy in this way. I mean, it's merely a hand movement, then the switch is turned off. That's no big deal. In any case, there are more important things to consider, and if you find that it is no big deal then you can come by in the evenings and turn off the PC. You should not push the responsibility on to others so easily. Everyone can do something about it so that we spend less money on energy. I see it's just not so simple, not while I have all my work to do. And how do you do it in the mornings at home when you're leaving your house or apartment? I make sure to close all the windows, I flip the lights off and so on.

1:24And why only at home? Obviously! It costs a lot of money, and when I'm not at home the entire day, I do not need the lights on. Oh, so when it's your own money at stake, you will save energy, but when it's your employer's money, it's all the same to you. You should simply take the time before you leave to turn off your PC, close the window and switch off the heating. And who pays me for this? Nobody! You would be doing what is good for the environment and for the budget of the company.

1:54And what's in it for me? Nothing. Good feelings, sense of environmentally conscious behavior. That doesn't motivate me at all. But alright, I shut the lights off, I shut my PC off, I turn the heating off. Nevertheless, there are things that I simply cannot do. Then name some of those things for me, please. In my office I can always save energy. We have already spoken about this. But when we speak of the laboratory, there is nothing more I can do.

2:26I cannot believe this. Especially in the laboratory is where the energy saving potential is even higher. Yes, but the priorities simply lie elsewhere. Where do you believe the priorities lie in the laboratory? The work must be done, the results have to be right, and it must go relatively quickly. I cannot just say, oh, the sun is going down, I must drop everything and go turn off the lights and switch off everything. Work processes are much too complex, and I would have to interrupt them to do this.

2:57Yeah, but you could, for example, ask another person to turn off the lights. Someone who's closer to the switch and whose workflow wouldn't be broken. And when the sun goes down, I must run those lights again. You know, a lot of this is simply not organizationally feasible. For example, we have a separate freezer in each laboratory, where often there is only three test tubes inside. It would be more reasonable, perhaps, to have one large freezer to use where all the test tubes are stored. But that would just be a huge hassle, because you would have to constantly walk from laboratory to laboratory.

3:29It would be worth it in terms of energy sparing. But in terms of our work, it would be much too complicated and take up too much time. So you think that there are capacities to save energy, but these are not implemented because in terms of other aspects there are too many drawbacks. Who wants to go to the room 30 times a day to retrieve a test tube? But perhaps someone could put the freezer in a central location so that it is accessible for all your colleagues. Then everyone would have to walk to it. The way it is now is just simpler.

4:01We did not buy all of these freezers for nothing. There is a purpose for it. You would only have to go a few more steps. A little physical activity in the workplace never hurt no one. This way, you killed two birds with one stone. I already got enough of a workout. As I've said, the priorities are simply elsewhere. We cannot change this and we will not change this.

Source and licence

Recording: File:Talking-with-consumers-about-energy-reductions-recommendations-from-a-motivational-interviewing-Video3.ogv by Klonek F, Kauffeld S (2015-03-13), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

The transcript is machine speech-to-text by the TidyTools Audio & video transcriber; the summary, key points and chapters were written by Claude from that transcript. Both may contain errors: check the recording before quoting it.