dgjpalmer, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
-I largely agree with your description of the different forms of non-monetary compensation non-profit employees receive, like different forms of status.
The only departments where wage dissatisfaction was common was where employees both worked long hours and had a skill-set that was easily transferable to the private sector. Although I’m not sure if employee turnover was necessarily higher than other departments, those who have left often have ended up in higher-paying, more conventionally prestigious jobs (eg. a Big-X consultancy or accountancy firm). Accounting, which furthermore lacks opportunity for tangible direct impact, did seem to have the greatest turnover and wage dissatisfaction.
This data point on the relative satisfaction across roles is very helpful and relevant. Your experience is totally consistent with economic theory, which would predict highest dissatisfaction in roles where there’s a high opportunity cost (people could earn lots more in the private sector) and where the work doesn’t generate much of a “warm glow” (like accounting vs. direct service). This is why I think it’s important to get a handle on what sorts of roles this applies to in the EA ecosystem and how big those opportunity costs are for the best candidates.
-I didn’t mean to suggest that nonprofits can’t attract talented people (though it sounds like your organization might have been exceptional in this area). Like you, I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing people who have worked at steep discounts to what they could otherwise earn because they believed in a charitable mission, some of whom have volunteered their time fully. My argument is that nonprofits (especially EA nonprofits) are only able to attract a narrow type of talented person, and that this narrowness inhibits their effectiveness. For instance, as Khorton observes low salaries weed out people who aren’t mission aligned but they also weed out people without a lot of privilege. I’ll discuss this more in a response to her comment.
dgjpalmer, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
-I largely agree with your description of the different forms of non-monetary compensation non-profit employees receive, like different forms of status.
This data point on the relative satisfaction across roles is very helpful and relevant. Your experience is totally consistent with economic theory, which would predict highest dissatisfaction in roles where there’s a high opportunity cost (people could earn lots more in the private sector) and where the work doesn’t generate much of a “warm glow” (like accounting vs. direct service). This is why I think it’s important to get a handle on what sorts of roles this applies to in the EA ecosystem and how big those opportunity costs are for the best candidates.
-I didn’t mean to suggest that nonprofits can’t attract talented people (though it sounds like your organization might have been exceptional in this area). Like you, I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing people who have worked at steep discounts to what they could otherwise earn because they believed in a charitable mission, some of whom have volunteered their time fully. My argument is that nonprofits (especially EA nonprofits) are only able to attract a narrow type of talented person, and that this narrowness inhibits their effectiveness. For instance, as Khorton observes low salaries weed out people who aren’t mission aligned but they also weed out people without a lot of privilege. I’ll discuss this more in a response to her comment.