A study discovered that employees working for charity organizations are much happier than private sector employees. This study is published in the Journal of Economic Psychology. It analyzed data on 12,786 British employees working in the private sector and 966 workers employed by charity organizations. Here’s what the study discovered:
- A higher pay doesn’t result in higher satisfaction
- Working for a charity organization increases employees’ happiness levels sharply
- A person working for a private company would have to earn at least £27,000 per year to be happy
- Women and higher educated people are more likely to work for charity organizations
The above report cautions that “because charity work is done differently, the expected level of happiness cannot be the same. The author of the report also recommends, “the question of self-selection needs to be further explored before one can generalize that everybody would be happier when working in the third sector”.
This shows us that retaining staff has little to do with fringe benefits and high salaries. Employee satisfaction is more important than dollars.
The following are five reasons why charity employees are happier than private employees.
When they’re aligned to mission of the organization
Charity employees gravitate towards organizations that pursue missions that they are passionate about. The everyday task of doing good drives them. The more positive impact their skills make, the happier they are. Surprisingly, lack of financial reward doesn’t seem to affect their level of happiness.
When they fit in with culture of the organization
Charity employees remain happy when there’s a cultural fit between them and their organization of choice. They perform well when they’re surrounded by those with common values and goals.
Their caring nature drives the organization growth and the impact it makes to communities. The more comfortable they are, the greater are the chances that they’ll get along with their coworkers.
Tweet this: The “open door” policy allows charity employees to voice their concerns anytime.
When communication lines are open
Charity organizations must create an environment where open communication prevails. The “open door” policy allows charity employees to voice their concerns anytime. Charity leaders can also get an opportunity to give employees honest feedback that will help them to improve performance. Employees are happy when they are told that their contribution makes a huge difference to other people’s lives.
To keep charity employees happy, managers should be clear about what they expect from them. In case there’s a deviation of a plan, managers should communicate this well in advance.
When there’s high level of transparency
Charity transparency encourages employees to engage more on charity fundraising because they can see that funds are spent responsibly. Here’s what charity organizations benefit from transparency:
- Employees can trust the charity senior management more
- They can gauge the success of charity programs easily
- Employees can comply with organizational policies because all their activities are viewable
When budgets are well-managed
Employees working for charity organizations that spend within budget are happy for this reasons:
- They know that all charity programs will be finished in time
- They know that donated funds are not wasted
- Employees know that they will continue to do good
- They know that the current software used by the company is archived and locked against unnecessary expenditures
Spending within budget is only possible when organizations use a user-friendly system such as Procurementexpress.com. Charity employees of an organization like UNICEF find this purchase order system easy to use. With Procurementexpress.com, charities can do the following:
- A budget is set up with single or multiple approvers which mean there’s no need for employees to wait for long periods for a requisition to be approved
- A nonprofit can adjust the budget whenever there’s a need. Any changes done on the budget are visible to employees. Where changes are made leaders can add comments so that employees can understand the changes.
Procurementexpress.com allows charities to grow their programs and continue to do good. Any duplications of invoices or discrepancies are addressed in real-time. Fraudsters do not stand a chance to steal charity funds as the software gives charity CFOs and COOs total control over purchases. Accountability seems as natural as breathing!
Don’t let budgeting outsmart you. Sign up for a free trial today. Procurementexpress.com’s team is available 24/7 just to make sure that you can budget like a pro. If you’d like more info about Procurementexpress.com (an automated purchase control system), please contact: [email protected]
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