Eryn Cianciola
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Elizabeth Trinh
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Management and Organizations / Business
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Authors: Eryn Cianciola, Joshua Williams, Elizabeth Trinh
Abstract
Nonprofits have a notorious reputation for employee burnout which is exacerbated by inadequate compensation. This study seeked to understand how C-suite level executives in nonprofit organizations ensure that their employees do not feel burnout and have a sense of meaning connected with their work. The study adds to our existing research on similar topics in for profit corporations. To conduct this research, we reached out to national nonprofit executives (outside of Michigan) by email and requested their assistance on our project. We then set up one-on-one zoom meetings with the sixty-seven executives who responded and presented them with prompts regarding leadership. Otter.ai software was utilized to display the key words that were mentioned repeatedly throughout each conversation which assisted in guiding our conclusions. We also wrote a summary of each interview so as to analyze, condense, and share the information. We found that leaders who allow flexibility in time off, remote working, and working hours tend to have more fulfilled employees. These strategies also seem to reduce burnout. Many leaders also mentioned that it was difficult to balance the desires of the baby boomer workforce and that of millennials and Gen Zers; younger people tend to value work life balance more than older generations, which is putting a strain on some companies when coupled with a dwindling workforce. Aside from burnout and fulfillment, we also found that non profit executives tend to be passionate about the work they do regardless of the long hours they work. The results that we obtained can be used to consult non profit organizations on ways to cultivate a fulfilled workforce which could benefit employees, leaders, and organizations. In turn, the organizational culture of non profits could be restructured to place more importance on the mental health and personal well-being of their employees.
