on nonprofits and overtime

Aug 26, 2016 12:17

gosh, i have gotten pretty political these last few years you might say

welp, let's get to it

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/the-plight-of-the-overworked-nonprofit-employee/497081/
Huge double standards here. Corporations pay their employees well? "Of course, that's what it takes to get and retain good employees!" Corporations pay starvation wages? "Of course, they have fiscal obligations to their shareholders to maximize profits!"

Non-profits pay their employees well? "Scandal! Their overhead is so high! Don't donate to Save the X, only 50 cents on the dollar goes towards their mission!" Non-profits pay starvation wages? "Scandal! Half the people who work there qualify for public services themselves!"

It's time for a dramatic shift in our thinking. We need to expect businesses to support the common good, starting with their employees. And we need to expect non-profits to produce *effective results* - which requires paying competitive wages for two reasons. One, so the best and the brightest will be drawn to this sector, knowing that they'll be able to make a career out of it that will include things like paying bills and eating fresh vegetables, instead of having their passion exploited and being chewed up and spit out within a few years. Two - and I want to stress that this has a lot of overlap with the previous point - so that people who are part of communities that need help can themselves be part of the solution, instead of being shut out by unpaid/underpaid positions that effectively require you to be independently wealthy in order to work there.

Right now, people of all backgrounds can look at the situation and justifiably conclude that working in the nonprofit sector is for suckers. We need to quit idolizing captains of industry and instead value community building - with our social approbation and with pay rates that allow people to do their jobs well over the long term. Think about that next time you're deciding where your money goes.
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