I’m a chief executive of a small charity. All of my staff, including myself, are employed on a contract until March 2016. My challenge is to secure additional funding or the organisation will close and everyone – from cleaner to senior management – will be made redundant.
Many charities are reliant on trusts and grant funding which is rarely permanent. Staff contracts are short term or, at best, around three to five years long. This is a huge issue in our sector and has knock-on effects for many individuals – after all what part of life isn’t affected by our monthly pay cheque?
During my eight-year career in the voluntary sector I have experienced varied contract lengths in numerous roles. Once I spent a summer on a succession of one- and two-week-long contracts. Sometimes I did not know until the Friday afternoon if I would have a job on the following Monday.
Now, I am a manager and I don’t have any answers for my team. While I am determined to treat my staff fairly and honestly, quite often, I am unable to perform miracles.
It is tough to keep staff motivated when I can’t promise them a full-time job. However, I have found that they appreciate honesty and realism – even if it’s not quite what they want to hear. Also, by being open and inclusive with the team, the staff have ownership over what we do and feel part of the process. As a team we do fantastic work and I know we can achieve more. I just wish I could reward them all with some job security.
We are all affected by the uncertainty of funding. We all have families, bills to pay and other commitments. Without an income, we all struggle with these daily aspects of life.
I know only too well the effect that short-term contracts can have on an individual. The instability of work can lead to uncertainty elsewhere. Earlier in my a career I had no idea how long each pay cheque would last. I stopped making plans in my social life and was unable to commit to lengthy tenancy agreements, meaning I moved between parents and friends for some time.
At the time I also became increasingly paranoid in the office. I endlessly watched who managers were in meetings with and wondered if it could be about me. This meant that I ended up focusing on what was going on in the office, instead of doing my work, which was probably not the best way to convince management to keep me on.
Despite our lack of job security, most staff, including myself, stayed put. Perhaps it was naivety, perhaps eccentric optimism. Whatever it was, it kept us in a job. Moving to the private sector was never an option for me. I believed in the charity sector and I still do. did not want to work in a company that only focused on financial gains. I know my staff feel the same.
As the employee I worry about my own future. As, the manager I worry about the wellbeing and happiness of my staff. Despite the challenges that these contracts may bring, we continue to put ourselves through it. Thank God we all believe in our fight to make society better.
Confessions of a charity professional is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s anonymous series where charity workers tell it how it is. If you would like to pitch us an idea, click here.
