What Do You Expect When You Work for a Charity?

There's a story I hear again and again from leaders across the sector, they're exhausted, overwhelmed, with the thought of taking annual leave an impossibility. When they raise concerns about unsustainable workloads, they're met with dismissive responses about how this is how the sector is, and what do you expect as a leader? They just need to get on with it. 

When funding crises hit, they're expected to just sort it out while managing increasing service demands with shrinking resources. Board members remind them that this is charity work, as if that explains why basic employment rights and human needs suddenly don't apply. 

The message is clear: your job is to put everyone before yourself. The communities you serve, the staff, the trustees, the funders. You come last, if at all. 

And many charity leaders have completely internalised this. They believe that caring for themselves is selfish when others have greater needs. They've accepted that self-sacrifice equals service, that working until exhaustion proves their dedication, that asking for support shows weakness. That this is just how it is. 

The Devastating Impact 

This toxic narrative is destroying our sector's best leaders; when you believe you're not deserving of rest, boundaries, or basic wellbeing, you create a downward spiral that serves no one. 

The physical consequences are severe: persistent fatigue, sleep disruption, compromised immune systems, and stress-related illness. The emotional toll includes anxiety, compassion fatigue, and a complete loss of joy in work that once energised them, ultimately leading to burnout. 

The impact on the organisation is equally damaging. Leaders making decisions from a place of exhaustion make poorer choices. Strategic thinking disappears when you're constantly firefighting. Innovation dies when there's no mental space for creativity. Teams mirror their leader's unhealthy patterns, inadvertently creating cultures of overwork and burnout. 

Worst of all, the people you're trying to help get less of what they need because you're running on empty instead of operating from a place of strength. 

The Culture is Broken, Not You 

The truth is the sector's expectation that charity workers should sacrifice themselves is fundamentally flawed. 

Yes, the communities you serve have significant needs. Yes, the work is urgent. Yes, resources are limited. But this doesn't mean the people doing this essential work should be treated as if their wellbeing is optional. 

The concept of a voluntary sector, where our charities are staffed predominantly by employees and not volunteers, has created a culture where giving time, energy, and health is seen as essential rather than unsustainable. We've confused self-sacrifice with dedication to the cause. 

But this needs to change if the sector is going to continue to function in the face of reduced resources and increased demand. You are as deserving of care, rest, and wellbeing as the communities you serve. Your needs matter. Your health matters. Your life outside work matters. And you can’t do your best work if all of this is ignored. 

You Deserve Better 

You deserve to work reasonable hours and have energy for your personal life. You deserve to take annual leave without guilt or prohibition. You deserve support when facing impossible challenges, not dismissive responses about this is how the sector is; without the expectation that you’ll just get on with it. 

You deserve to put your own life jacket on first, not because it's selfish, but because you can't save anyone else if you're drowning. 

It's time to challenge the narrative that working for a charity means working yourself into the ground. You can create meaningful change and still enjoy your life. In fact, you'll create more sustainable change if you do. 

The question shouldn't be what do you expect when you work for a charity? The question is, what do you deserve as someone doing such essential work?  

The answer is, to thrive, not just survive.