Burnout among Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

Modern work environments are characterized by growing demands for accountability and complex performance expectations from stakeholders. It is particularly true for fast developing nonprofit sectors of which civil society organizations (CSOs) are not only accountable to the public sector but also donors, service users and members. While CSOs often have strong leaders who are passionate, entrepreneurial and charismatic, they also tend to be undermanaged and understaffed. Roles and performance expectations are not clearly specified due to the competing values and priorities of multiple stakeholders. As a result, CSOs‘ workers often find themselves exhausted by repeated reinvention of work processes and confused by competing values in the work. They are susceptible to job burnout characterized by exhaustion and cynicism. Is leadership ready to meet the challenge of accountability explosion and help workers chart a course through complex and contradictory institutional environments? This book chapter discusses the psychology of burnout in the nonprofit sector. With preliminary research evidence, we also propose burnout intervention programs to enhance perceived meaningfulness of work as well as institutional memory, efficiency and consistency.