One-third of Canadian non-profit employees are burned out, food insecure: study

New data shows one-third of non-profit sector employees are burned out and experiencing food insecurity.

New data shows one-third of non-profit sector employees are burned out and food insecure, a higher proportion than the general workforce.

The inaugural Changemaker Wellbeing Index, released by Future of Good, highlights pressures impacting non-profit workers. The index is the first to highlight wellness in Canada’s non-profit sector, said a news release.

It offers insights for employers to help their teams while turnover continues to be a challenge for non-profits.

“The numbers are concerning, and by tracking them, we can amplify solutions and find new strategies so non-profits can focus their efforts on social good,” said Anouk Bertner, executive director of Future of Good.

Environics Research collaborated with GreenShield, ATB Financial, Ontario Trillium Foundation, WES Mariam Assefa Fund, Definity Insurance Foundation and United Way Centraide Canada to survey 1,100 Canadian non-profit workers.

Their survey found:

• 36 per cent of non-profit workers say they “often or always” feel burned out or exhausted.
• 31 per cent of non-profit workers report experiencing food insecurity; for frontline staff, that rises to 48 per cent.
• one-in-three non-profit workers are ready to quit
• community non-profits report lower overall wellbeing (39 per cent) compared to government non-profits (32 per cent). It’s worse in arts and cultural groups.
• low wages, worker ages are driving factors. (Half of entry-level workers say they’re struggling.)

Bertner said the index draws overdue attention to the health and wellbeing of those working the sector, especially those on the front lines.

Ash Avery, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia, has seen the high levels of burnout in the non-profit sector.

“We do have initiatives within the organization to support wellbeing and mental health and we’re very fortunate to have the resources to be able to do that,” Avery said. “So many nonprofits are not resourced to be able to invest in their staff, and that is one of the major gaps, and so we are able to do things like invest in competitive wages, benefits, making sure that staff just have that well-rounded support system.”

Avery noted core funding to support staff could be a solution to the burnout problem.

“More and more there is just this mentality or this narrative that all of the funding should go directly to the programs and so we would like to see a changing of that narrative and a recognition that burnout is not a badge of honor,” Avery said. “It’s not something that we should accept. It’s actually a sign of a broken system.

“We need to acknowledge that investing in people is mission work.”

Future of Good is a media, learning and research organization.

-With files from CTV Atlantic’s Stephanie Tsicos