The ‘new normal’ was never supposed to be exploitative
Houston, we have a problem! Everyone I speak to, from Directors to Administrators, tells me the same thing. “I'm at breaking point. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”
The pandemic has been brutal. There’s no getting away from that. Difficult decisions had to be made, extra effort had to be invested, and sacrifices had to be accommodated.
But the sector stepped up as the country was locked down.
Despite teams and budgets being slashed, and expectations rising to an all-time high, the people who make our charities great rose to the challenge.
They worked round the clock, at an unimaginable pace, picking up the slack of furloughed team members. Fundraising was pushed to new heights of creativity as events went digital overnight.
This superhuman effort meant that the sector was, by and large, able to weather the storm.
However, now the pandemic is over, we’re left with a dilemma.
No one wants to let go of this incredible pace and agility.
But it’s not realistic.
People were happy to work longer hours when there was no life outside the home, but they have lives to return to.
Some employers have lost sight of what’s reasonable to expect from staff, and are suffering a drain of their top talent as a result.
Every day, we’re speaking to incredible fundraisers who are disillusioned, burnt out, and in need of change.
Unless something changes, things will get worse. For every candidate we speak to that wants to jump ship, we speak to another three who say they’re going to change jobs once the market stabilises.
We spoke with an HR Director at a Top 100 fundraising charity who said, “I am working as hard as I possibly can. I start early, I finish late, I don’t take lunch, and I can’t remember the last time I got to sit down for dinner with my kids. But it’s never enough. Expectations increase and the criticism increases.”
We then spoke with a Major Donor Officer at a large children’s charity who said, “At the start of the pandemic, they removed the majority of our managers in a cost-saving exercise, and increased the responsibility of junior team members. We were tasked with limiting income losses with half the number of staff.
Everyone wanted to see the charity prevail, so we worked like we’d never worked before and managed to limit losses to near zero. In the last few months, I’ve started to feel burned out and under-appreciated, so when mental health came up in a meeting last week, I took the opportunity to speak out. I was called into a meeting to discuss my concerns and was essentially told that it was a difficult time and more was expected of me as part of a small team. They offered to put me on a course for time management.
I want to get out of here, for the sake of my mental health.”
While this isn’t being done maliciously or purposefully, people aren’t commodities. They’re sentient beings with thoughts, feelings, and long memories. If you sacrifice the goodwill of your staff now, chances are you’re going to have some long-term recruitment and retention issues on your hands.
Share your story
We want to hear your stories, thoughts, and experiences of work during the pandemic. If you’d like to contribute, send Graham a message at graham@bamboofundraising.co.uk And, if you’re struggling and looking to remove yourself from a difficult working situation, give us a call on 0203 750 3111.