Lucas Digiuseppe
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Elizabeth Trinh
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Management and Organizations / Business
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Authors: Lucas DiGiuseppe, Elizabeth Trinh
Abstract
The nonprofit sector is often looked upon as a harsh environment with long working hours and smaller pay compared to its for-profit counterpart. It is important to understand the motivations behind leaders in the industry in order to evaluate how they balance the harsher working conditions. In our study, we set up 8-10 interviews with leaders of nonprofit organizations (CEOs, Executive Directors, etc.) and asked them a series of questions about their workplace environment. We mainly focused on their motivation behind their work, their working hours, and their relationship with their employees. I personally conducted 9 interviews, with specific questions such as “do you think you are working a healthy amount?†or “would you say that your employees are as motivated as you are?†Through this series of interviews, I was able to identify many trends shared between these leaders. My most important takeaway was the personal connection and drive that they all shared for their work, and how they transmitted this connection to their employees through an open and welcoming environment. Through this research, we can start to de-stigmatize work in the nonprofit sector, shedding light on the fact that it is not as harsh and demanding as many people perceive it to be.
