The Burden of Care: Addressing Challenges in Employment in the Nonprofit Sector

Canada | 2023

This report examines the perceptions of workers in the nonprofit sector and how these differ from workers in other sectors. Workers in the nonprofit sector have lower job satisfaction than workers in either the public or private sectors. Nonprofit sector jobs are also quite precarious, with high rates of temporary and part-time employment, including many workers who are involuntarily part-time.

The findings are drawn from four waves of the Survey on Employment and Skills. The report was written by Steven Ayer.

Key findings include:

• Low job satisfaction in the nonprofit sector driven by some of the largest employee groups.

• Precarious and part-time work is common, as is economic precarity.

• The nonprofit sector is diverse, and workers are more likely to report having ever faced discrimination and unfair treatment at work.

• Work from home is the new normal and preferred by most of those working from home.

• Collaboration is a critical skill for the future in the nonprofit sector.