Guest post by MassageBook
As nonprofits often have limited budgets, staff members may need to wear many hats and fulfill various responsibilities, from human resources to donor management to event planning. However, juggling multiple roles can be extremely stressful for staff members, potentially leading to disengagement, burnout, and turnover.
Staff members are the silent heroes of your organization—much like you need donors to fund your mission, you need staff members to help you acquire those donors and allocate resources to further your cause. That’s why it’s crucial to help your staff members manage their stress levels.
In this guide, we’ll outline four top stress relief strategies you can use to create a better working environment, increase employee engagement, and ultimately see greater success for your nonprofit. Let’s get started!
1. Encourage mindfulness.
The word “mindfulness” usually conjures up images of yoga, but it actually refers to the practice of self-awareness, or remaining in tune with what you’re sensing and feeling physically, mentally, and spiritually. The first step to reducing stress is recognizing that it exists, and mindfulness provides a way to do that.
Although it’s easy to get engrossed in work, encourage staff members to check in with themselves every hour or so. At this point, they should stop working and assess how they feel. You might also take a leaf from the books of doctors and massage therapists and advise team members to take notes on their stress symptoms. That way, they’ll be able to identify patterns for when they feel most stressed and work toward mitigating those circumstances.
For example, a team member may experience a pounding headache every single day during work. This constant pain may lead them to form a negative opinion of their job and even dread going to work. With mindful check-ins, the team member might realize that they frequently feel thirsty, helping them recognize that the source of their headache is dehydration rather than stress. They can then resolve this issue by drinking more water, which results in them feeling much better and increasing their productivity.
2. Allow flexibility.
Another way you can help nonprofit staff members relieve stress is to give them more flexibility in their work. Here are a few ways to add flexibility for team members:
Breaks. Allow your nonprofit’s staff members to take short breaks to help them stay fresh with their work—after all, employees who take short breaks are about 9% more productive than those who do not. For example, you might allow them to go for a 10-minute walk every few hours.
Sick leave. Many organizations only offer paid time off (PTO), which employees use up if they want to go on vacation or if they’re sick. Instead, offer dedicated sick time. That way, team members won’t feel stressed about using up their PTO when they’re ill, allowing them to rest, recover, and come back feeling ready to work.
Flexible start. Instead of requiring employees to start work at a specific time every day, allow them to begin work at a time that best suits their schedule. For instance, you might require that all employees work 8 hours, starting between 6 AM and 9 AM.
Remote or hybrid work. For nonprofits willing to make a more drastic change to improve employee morale, consider allowing remote or hybrid work. These work models increase flexibility by allowing employees to save time on their commutes by working at home or another location of their choosing.
With greater flexibility, your nonprofit’s team members will be able to achieve a better work-life balance, which will greatly reduce the stress they feel and increase their satisfaction with their role.
3. Use software to reduce workload.
With 39% of workers citing workload as the cause of their workplace stress, relieving staff members’ stress may require you to reduce their workload. However, as a nonprofit, your budget may not be able to accommodate hiring new employees to reduce the workload on current team members. So what can you do?
Just as massage businesses might purchase appointment management software to streamline their operations, your nonprofit can also purchase software that will make your employees’ lives easier. Here are a few tech tools to consider:
Nonprofit CRM. A constituent relationship management system (CRM) stores information about your nonprofit’s donors in one centralized database. It will also help you identify giving trends and leverage insights to increase the likelihood of receiving future donations.
Fundraising platforms. With a fundraising platform, you can create customizable donation forms, accept recurring donations, organize crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns, and more. Through these solutions, you’ll empower team members to fundraise more efficiently and effectively without increasing their workload.
Marketing and communications tools. According to MassageBook, the right marketing tool will streamline your communications and help you acquire new constituents. Look for a robust solution that automates your outreach efforts, including thank-you messages, weekly newsletters, social media posts, and more. You should be able to segment supporters into groups to send more targeted messages.
Volunteer management software. If your nonprofit relies on volunteers to help out, consider investing in a tool that allows you to streamline managing your volunteers. The right solution will empower you to recruit, onboard, train, schedule, and evaluate your volunteers to ensure that you get the help you need.
As you look into software solutions, be sure to follow all the steps for investing in software laid out by your organization. Be thorough with your research—create lists of tools that would best aid your processes, read reviews from existing clients, and book demos with providers. During your demo meeting, ask any questions you have about the software.
Although it may require a lot of effort to find a tool that works for you, the benefits you reap from reducing your employees’ workflow will be well worth it.
4. Foster a positive workplace culture.
Our final stress relief strategy for nonprofit staff members is to foster a positive workplace culture. You can do this in various ways, but the two main ways are to ensure that employees feel supported in their roles and to recognize the great work that they do.
To provide team members with the support they need, make sure that they know they always have resources to turn to if they have any questions. For instance, you can encourage managers to schedule weekly meetings with their direct reports. This allows them to check in on the employee’s work regularly and allows the employee to bring up questions or concerns they may have. When employees feel supported, they’ll feel less stressed about mistakes and their workload.
In terms of employee recognition, Double the Donation recommends establishing a recognition program. With a formal process, you’ll ensure that all employees are properly commended for their hard work and contributions, fostering a positive work environment where team members are motivated to do their best. You may also pair your recognition with little gifts, such as branded merchandise, gift cards, tickets to special events, and more.
Less stressed, more engaged, and happier nonprofit staff members are more motivated to work hard to further your nonprofit’s mission. Regardless of whether they work in fundraising, marketing, or volunteer management, your team members deserve a great work environment that keeps them excited to come back, day after day.