Kermit the Frog once sang about the woes of being green, but the tune could be different for businesses. One simple way to be green is to pay employees using direct deposit.
A company with 300 employees issuing paychecks every other week only via direct deposit would save 121 pounds of paper, 1,159 gallons of wastewater and 45 gallons of gas annually. Getting rid of paper paychecks would translate to a $19,000 annual savings for a company employing 100 people.
Employees like it, too: A survey by PayItGreen shows that 72% of employees in the US receive their paycheck via direct deposit, though company size has a lot to do with direct deposit use. Only 40% of small business employees use it, as compared to 86% of employees working for large companies.
PayItGreen claims that 55% of employees using direct deposit find its environmental benefits motivating. But the convenience of not having to cash a check seems to be a larger motivating factor. The main reason for not using direct deposit was whether or not the employer offered it.