Burnout Is Not a Badge of Honor: The Nonprofit Culture That’s Breaking Us

Burnout is common in the nonprofit sector, where overwork and self-sacrifice are often seen as part of the job. This mindset, and the resulting work environment, is not only unsustainable but also detrimental to both individuals and organizations. Burnout has been on the rise, in people’s personal experiences but also in conversations in the media and in science. One might even say that burnout is the current cultural zeitgeist. So, why does burnout continue to haunt nonprofit professionals, when everyone is experiencing it and talking about it - and recognizes the damage it’s causing?

Despite the fact that the implementation of solutions is lagging behind acknowledgement of the problem, there are strategies that actually work to create a culture prioritizing employee well-being while driving meaningful change. Here are some of the systemic reasons behind burnout in nonprofits and what we can do about them.

Burnout happens to people working in all sectors and all industries. However, while nonprofit employees are not alone in this experience, there are some systemic factors that contribute to the high incidence of burnout in the nonprofit sector.

• External Beliefs: There's a pervasive belief that those working in nonprofits shouldn’t cost the organization too much – that choosing to work in the third sector requires sacrifice. Many organizations have had a hard time dismantling the ‘overhead myth’ with their supporters and funders, which often leads to lower employee compensation. But making people choose between their ability to support themselves and their ability to support others, is a surefire way to burn out and lose good talent.

• Sector Expectations: Even within the nonprofit sector itself, there is often a reverence for sacrifice. Employees may feel compelled to work long hours and forego personal time to demonstrate commitment to their cause. There can also be a sense of competition between coworkers and between organizations, which can come from the constant vying for funding. These two forces put a lot of pressure on people to achieve in ways that don’t always support their mental health.   

• Resource Constraints: Speaking of money, nonprofits often operate with limited funding and staffing, and employees are often expected to deliver a lot for very little. This can lead to employees to taking on multiple roles and responsibilities, a constant juggling act that can result in chronic stress and fatigue.

• Role Ambiguity: This might not be the case for all nonprofits, but for some, unclear job descriptions can lead to role confusion. This makes it difficult for employees to understand what’s expected of themselves and their peers, which also increases stress and the likelihood of burnout.

• Emotional Demands: Those working closely with marginalized or vulnerable populations can be exposed to secondary stress, which can accumulate over time and lead to emotional exhaustion. For employees that work in service of environmental causes or advocate for systemic change, their effort may seem astronomical compared to the amount, or rate, of change. This can contribute to the feelings of overwhelm that often characterize burnout.

Watch just about any tv show about a workplace and it’s easy to get the impression that longer hours and personal sacrifice lead to greater individual and organizational success. However, over a sustained period of time, overworking is likely to have more adverse effects than benefits.

• Diminished Productivity: Have you ever gotten to the point in life where you feel like you can’t cope with even the smallest administrative task? Where even making a 2-minute phone call to book an appointment or sending off a quick email seems to require an unachievable amount of effort? That’s burnout. Working too much makes you less productive, not more.

• Reduced Resilience to Stress: If small things that don’t seem to phase anyone else send you into a tailspin, that’s burnout. Being chronically overwhelmed makes you less resilient to stress, so even minor inconveniences send your cortisol skyrocketing and your mood plummeting.

• High Turnover Rates: Burned-out employees are more likely to leave, resulting in increased recruitment and training costs, as well as potential disruptions in program continuity. Not to mention the impact on everyone’s mental health – because when one person experiences overwhelm and burnout, their colleagues, beneficiaries, friends and family suffer too.

• Impaired Decision-Making: Have you ever heard of analysis paralysis? Being overwhelmed by too much work can prevent you from even forming a viable list of options from which to choose, making decision-making impossible. And exhaustion can cloud judgment, leading to suboptimal decisions that may negatively impact your organization's mission.

It should be everyone’s responsibility to identify and mitigate burnout, for themselves and for others. By taking joint action and implementing a number of strategies, we can all promote a healthier environment.

• Promote Work-Life Balance: Nonprofit employers should encourage employees to set boundaries between work and personal life. They can do this by implementing policies that discourage overwork. This could include prohibiting after-hours emails, offering time off in lieu, formally limiting workloads, and supporting flexible scheduling when possible.

• Model Healthy Behaviours: One of the most important factors is leadership behaviour – and accepted behaviour at every level of the organization. Policies can be written in stone, but if leaders in the organization are deprioritizing their own well-being, it’s unlikely to lead others to prioritize healthy behaviours. Likewise if they overlook people in their organization engaging in unhealthy behaviours.

• Share Mental Health Resources: If you can, offer access to counselling services and stress management workshops. Build a culture where everyone in the organization is encouraged to share mental health tools and resources with each other. At the very least, we should all be working to create safe spaces for everyone to discuss mental health concerns without stigma.

• Assess Roles and Responsibilities: A first step might to develop clear job descriptions and set realistic expectations so that people fully understand what is expected of them, but to effectively prevent burnout, a process for continued assessment needs to be in place. This will help to prevent role ambiguity and scope creep that happen over time and lead to employee overload.

• Foster a Culture of Appreciation: Regularly acknowledging and celebrating employee contributions can boost morale and refuel employee’s tanks so they are less likely to burn out. However, it’s important to note that sustained success in this area may require continued innovation. Everyone who’s ever worked in a ‘progressive’ organization knows that the 15th pizza party doesn’t quite hit the same as the first.

• Encourage Professional Development: Overwhelm is a natural consequence of not feeling able or prepared to succeed, so at a very basic level, people need to be properly trained and confident in their role and responsibilities. Invest in training and development opportunities that allow employees to grow and feel competent in their roles. But this must be done without adding to workload. What’s the best way to do this? Ask your people what they need.

Burnout is pervasive. And it is dangerous. For individuals, for organizations and for society. We need to be proactive about addressing the systemic issues that cause people to feel this way and we need to be unrelenting in reshaping our shared cultures to better support each other. Nonprofits can create a sustainable environment where employees are empowered to contribute effectively without compromising their well-being – but not without all of us putting in the work.