Job satisfaction > salary?
How much of a pay cut would you take to be more job satisfied?
A 2016 study of nonprofit professionals in the UK from 2016 estimated that individuals would need around 22,000 GBP or about $30,000, to make them equally ‘happy’ were they to take a job outside the nonprofit industry. Aside from the crass economics of equating a degree of happiness with a dollar of income – it’s a provocative thought experiment.
US nonprofit workers appear to be happier in their jobs than the general population. Interestingly, fundraisers scored the highest in satisfaction. Who knew? On the surface, the margins are wide: over 80% of nonprofit employees report being happy vs. 50% of the general working population.
Granted, the studies aren’t directly comparable, and it’s not safe to draw any detailed conclusions. But it sure looks like nonprofit workers get more satisfaction.
Which brings us back to the economic thought experiment – how much is that happiness worth? $30,000 per year for 30 years with average stock market returns of 7% real is nearly $3.5 million dollars! I am proud and happy to have worked in the nonprofit industry for three decades, but (and you knew this was coming) it does require better planning.
There’s less room for mistakes. One thing I think nonprofits could do, and something I’m thinking about a lot, is raising the financial literacy of our nonprofit employees. They are willingly taking a pay cut to do work they feel is valuable and makes them happy. But we need to help them deal with the consequences of that decision.
