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Sector is 'most satisfied'

Third Sector, 25 October 2006

Staff at not-for-profit organisations are more likely to be satisfied with their pay than those in the public and private sectors, according to new figures from employee research experts.

Data produced by the Opinion Research Corporation shows that nearly two-thirds of not-for-profit employees consider their salaries to be fair - 18 percentage points above the average satisfaction level across all sectors.

A further 69 per cent of not-for-profit workers reported that they felt proud of their organisations, second only to finance professionals (70 per cent).

The results for the voluntary sector were drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 employees from 25 different not-for-profit groups. They consistently outperform retail, finance, local government and central government in levels of satisfaction over their pay.

Phil Pringle, account manager for employee research at ORC, said that the data revealed the "significant gap" that exists between the third sector and others.

"Not-for-profit employees' expectations are a lot lower than those of people working in other sectors," he said.

"In most cases, they tend to be more positive about their employer organisation because they have chosen it for very specific reasons."

Lai-Har Cheung, employment practice manager at the NCVO's Workforce Hub, said that the not-for profit organisations tended to be good employers because they prioritised non-monetary rewards, such as flexible working hours and the desire of staff to maintain a good work-life balance.