Is your nonprofit stifling you?

Do you come to work with a sigh?

Do you daydream about working at other nonprofits, or getting out of the field entirely?

Do you seem to have lost your motivation?

Do you search for other jobs at work?

Does it feel like forever since you’ve gotten a compliment?

If the answer to three of the top questions is Yes, Definitely, and OF COURSE, then you might be stifled by your work environment.

What’s making you feel oppressed about your working environment? Is it a coworker? Is it your boss? Is it the economic climate? Is it the fact that you work in a dusty cubicle in a forgotten corner of the building? Is it that everyone keeps interrupting you? Is your board being completely unreachable? Is it the multitude of expectations placed on you in your position by everyone? Do you routinely find yourself first one in, or last one out, with no compliments or extra pay?

Okay, first of all, know that you’re not alone. We are reasonable people in an unreasonable profession.

If you’re in a large shop, you probably have fairly reasonable expectations, but if you’re in a small shop, you’ve got a lot of expectation and a lot of people probably expecting you to be three people or more.

Second of all, see if you can identify what exactly makes you feel stifled by your workplace.

If it’s having to come in at 8am, can you negotiate a 4-10 workweek? (Four ten hour days followed by a 3 day weekend). Can you come in later but stay later? Can you negotiate working from home once a week? (If you “get sick” and request a work at home arrangement for that day, see if you can use this day as your most productive day, which can win you points with your boss when you ask about it later.)

Is it a generational or cultural difference?

Identify your generation. Are you Gen Y? (1978-1992) Are you Gen X? (1965-1977) Are you a Boomer? (1940-1964) Are you one of the silent generation? (1920-1939)

Since I’m Gen Y, let’s start there. Gen Y has different expectations in the workplace than other generations. We expect to come in later than 9am. We feel better with emotional connections at work. We can be fiercely loyal to coworkers, to our mission, to our bosses, if we feel connected, appreciated and understood. When communication breaks down, we can be gone in a heartbeat.

Gen X is known to be suspicious. “Give me proof” is their catch phrase. They bought into the consumerist decade of the 1990s and 1980s, and also saw the job crunch and crash of the early 2000s. Lots of money makes them feel secure, but not fulfilled. They are looking for happiness through work, but aren’t willing to sacrifice as much as Boomers.

Boomers are known to work really hard, to expect to stay at a job for a long time, and to be a little behind on technology generally. They can scratch their heads about younger workers willingness to leave a job quickly. The current job market can often be a rude awakening to them. (I’m sorry for the brief outlines of these generations.. they seem too caricaturish to me, and I will address them in more detail in future posts.)

What culture did you grow up in?

Is it different than the cultural environment you’re in now? Are people around you from your culture, or are you expected to conform to their culture? This, obviously, can contribute to your feeling of alienation.

Is it gender or orientation?
Are you a man surrounded by women? A woman surrounded by men? A gay person surrounded by people who gay-bash? A trans person surrounded by those very secure in their gender expression and unaware of any other way to be? A questioning person who just can’t find anyone who can understand your questioning? Are you in a nonprofit that purports to be about justice, but which actually means only justice for a small group of people that doesn’t include you due to your orientation?

Here’s how you begin to work towards a solution.

After you’ve figured out what is oppressing you about your current situation, make a list of what you want to change. Prioritize this list.

Figure out where your organizational allies are. Do you have a board member you can talk with? A major donor you’ve built a relationship with? A sympathetic coworker? A development mentor? A friend outside this situation who has influence? A person at the bureau of labor who might listen to what you have to say?

Gather your allies. Start to practice the conversations you need to have.

Figure out how you can manage expectations, if there are too many expectations.

If you are interrupted too much, see how you can practice the time boundary conversation you need to set.

Figure out if there are cultural, generational, and gender bias issues going on, and if there are, who will be able to understand where you’re coming from, and help you communicate this to those who are oppressing you. One way to help people understand their bias is to have a staff meeting where people write their assumptions about various groups of people on pieces of paper around the room. Everyone can see what people assume, and then the facilitator can take the assumptions and talk about what the reality is.

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