I recently created a series of graphics and LinkedIn posts with some ideas about how to better support the nonprofit workforce. A stronger, healthier nonprofit workforce matters: it will elevate nonprofits’ efficacy and enhance the social sector. I am sharing these posts as a series on my blog and encourage you to comment and share!
No one enters the nonprofit workforce to find their fortune.
They also don’t enter the nonprofit workforce to be taken advantage of, and they don’t expect to be guilt-tripped for expecting fair and equitable treatment. Nonprofit employees should expect to work reasonable hours and earn wages that are aligned with others in their field.
No workplace is perfect, and even a healthy nonprofit organization experiences “lean times” when budget cuts and extra work hours may be necessary. But those times should be a quick and temporary fix, not a long-term strategy.
When nonprofit leaders tell employees that they should put up with wages, hours, and working conditions that are unfair, deceptive, or even illegal because “Hey, you came here because you care about the cause, right?”… those leaders are exploiting their workers. Full stop.
It’s not so simple for workers to call out this behavior. Backlash can be swift and merciless. Or it can be subtle, and take place over months or years: lack of advancement opportunities, being left out of key meetings, or other deaths by a thousand cuts. Senior leadership and nonprofit boards must have the courage to call out practices or conditions that have the whiff of Passion Exploitation. Not accepting those exploitative practices goes without saying.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Nonprofit leaders, ask yourself: Is there anything going on at your organization that you wouldn’t want your donors, or the general public, to know about? If yes, it’s time to ask yourself some tough questions about the way you are treating your organization’s employees.
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