Why Wellbeing is Mission Critical for Your Nonprofit

Dec 1

Why nonprofits need to pay attention to staff wellbeing

In times of change and disruption, burnout has become a major epidemic. In fact, according to statistics, over half of the workforce is burnt out, with the nonprofit sector being hit the hardest.

Because we must address this issue, I invited Dr. Reggie Thomas to join me on the Learning for Good podcast. He is the founder of PeakePotential, Inc., and a professional speaker who gives keynote talks and teaches workshops on burnout prevention and recovery, and workplace wellness.

You will understand burnout and its symptoms, discover how it impacts both the individual and the organization, and learn practical tools to prevent burnout, support recovery, and strengthen your and your people's well-being.

▶️ Key Points:

0:00:00 From his own burnout to helping others recover

0:07:33 The increase in burnout across the workplace

0:09:52 How burnout impacts individuals and organizations

0:12:57 Strategies to prevent burnout and support recovery

0:20:25 Normalize burnout and pay attention to the symptoms

Current State of the Nonprofit Sector

Nonprofit leaders are tasked with the crucial mission of driving performance, improving capacity, and fueling impact. Yet, in the face of persistent challenges—from grappling with new technologies like generative AI to navigating the profound job changes and economic shifts of the current era—the engine that drives the mission, the people, are paying a heavy price.

According to data from the APA, the stress of job insecurity affects 54% of US workers, and significant governmental policy changes have impacted two-thirds of working adults, causing 46% of those impacted to feel their work significantly affected their mental health. These impacts lead to sleep and relationship challenges. This rapid pace of change has created an epidemic of burnout that permeates the nonprofit sector.

The challenge for leaders today is clear: how do we pivot from a position of chronic exhaustion to a place of breakthrough? The answer lies in fundamentally restructuring how we view and manage workplace wellness, transforming it from an optional perk into an integrated, strategic imperative. And, that’s what we explore on episode 162 of the Learning for Good podcast.

This necessity for structural change was the central focus of my conversation with Dr. Reggie Thomas, founder and president of Peake Potential Inc. Dr. Thomas is a professional speaker who gives keynote talks and teaches workshops specifically on burnout prevention, burnout recovery, and workplace wellness. His life legacy, rooted in serving others to help them reach their full potential, is now intensely focused on this epidemic.

According to Dr. Thomas, stress and burnout rates have been significantly elevated and exacerbated, particularly since the beginning of COVID, with organizations yet to fully bounce back. The residual effect of the crisis, combined with stress related to current economic and political headwinds, is severely impacting the modern workplace.

While burnout affects every industry, the statistics show a disproportionate impact on areas that often include nonprofit organizations:

Healthcare (leads the burnout rate)
Education
Social Services
Emergency Services (police officers, firefighters)

The statistics are alarming: one frequently cited Forbes statistic states that 66% of the workforce is now burned out, with some studies indicating rates as high as 75%. Since several of these top affected areas are traditionally not-for-profit, this represents a severe, immediate challenge for the entire sector.

The Impacts of Burnout on the Nonprofit Sector

A common mistake when discussing burnout is focusing solely on the individual experience. However, Dr. Thomas emphasizes that the long-term impact is dual: affecting individuals’ personal health and organizations’ financial viability.

The Cost of Burnout on the Individual

Burnout fundamentally manifests as emotional exhaustion and emotional depletion. If left unaddressed, the symptoms migrate from the mental domain into the physical. Physical symptoms can include gastrointestinal issues, insomnia, and the potential development of cardiac issues.

Behaviorally, burnout leads to isolation and strained relationships, impacting marriages, relationships with children, and friendships.

Emotionally, burnout results in employees checking out, leading to the widely discussed phenomenon of "quiet quitting." Quiet quitting is defined as an employee who remains on the job due to financial necessity but is physically present without being emotionally engaged. These individuals are drained and depleted, simply going through the motions.

The Cost of Burnout on the Nonprofit Organization

The organizational and institutional consequences of unchecked burnout are severe and financially measurable. High burnout rates directly harm the company's:

Retention Rate
Productivity and Performance
Organizational Culture
Financial Bottom Line

When staff require extensive time off or leave the organization entirely, the financial hit is significant. The cost to replace a single employee can be as high as $100,000 when factoring in hard and hidden costs. Addressing burnout, therefore, is not merely an act of kindness; it is a critical strategy to protect organizational assets and ensure financial stability.

Burnout Strategies for Nonprofits

Moving from burnout to breakthrough requires changes at both the individual and organization levels.

The Generational Imperative for Boundaries
Dr. Thomas noted a hopeful shift driven by demographics. As a Baby Boomer, he observed that his generation often brought values of "overwork, overwork, push, push, grind, grind, grind" into the workplace. However, Millennials now constitute over 50% of the workforce, and by 2030, they are projected to make up about 95%.
The millennial generation is prioritizing a different set of values: meaning in work, boundaries, life balance, and self-care. This generational switch is inherently driving the workforce toward healthier practices, demanding systemic change from employers.
The Responsibility of the Individual
The foundation of wellbeing lies with the employee. Dr. Thomas asserts that organizational leaders cannot perform self-care for their staff; this responsibility falls to the individual. Employees must understand themselves, set clear boundaries, and prioritize self-care through conscious actions: eating well, getting proper sleep, exercising, engaging in hobbies, taking time off, and going on vacation.
Integrated Workplace Wellness Plans
While the individual is responsible for self-care, the employer is responsible for creating a supportive environment. Organizational leaders must demonstrate empathy and compassion and actively cooperate with, and encourage, staff to set and exercise boundaries.
The shift must move beyond reactive, surface-level solutions—such as "check-the-box" happy hours or one-time yoga events—to structured, formalized support. Organizations should implement what Dr. Thomas calls a wellbeing plan.
These plans can take various forms, such as one organization that employs an onsite counselor, encouraging all employees to have an annual check-in. The goal is to create robust workplace wellness programs that integrate seamlessly into the organizational culture.
Accountability through Management Practices
A critical component often overlooked is how managers integrate wellbeing into daily operations. Dr. Thomas, reflecting on his 30 years as a nonprofit leader, shared a practice he implemented toward the end of his career: scheduled, intentional one-on-ones with direct reports.
These meetings were not solely dedicated to discussing work, vision, or strategy. After building psychological safety, trust, and rapport, leaders must use this time to intentionally ask, "How are you doing personally?"
As a leader, Dr. Thomas worked with his staff to formalize their wellbeing efforts into a simple plan, which was then included in their performance evaluation. This practice helps hold staff accountable for taking care of themselves, aligning self-care with job performance and adherence to organizational values. This emphasizes the organizational importance of the whole self, acknowledging that what happens outside of work inevitably impacts performance inside the workplace.

Breaking the Stigma of Burnout in the Nonprofit Sector

The most significant barrier to breakthrough is stigma. Dr. Thomas views the need to stop stigmatizing burnout as his primary burden and challenge to the sector. He believes the true statistics of burnout are much higher because people do not feel safe enough to talk about it or acknowledge where they are.

The pervasive cultural labels associated with burnout—the perception that it means “you’re a crazy person” or “mentally ill”—are myths that keep people isolated. Dr. Thomas disclosed that when he was going through his own burnout, he kept it a secret for two years. In the faith-based nonprofit world, he felt he was supposed to be strong, and burnout was incorrectly seen as a weakness.

Burnout must be reframed: It is not a weakness or a mental illness (it is not listed as such in American Psychological Association journals). Instead, burnout is a warning sign that something is fundamentally wrong and needs to change, indicating a need for help.

Leaders and organizations must take two essential steps:

Normalize the Epidemic: Acknowledge that burnout is real and common, creating safe places for staff to discuss their emotional and mental health without fear of judgment or professional repercussions.
Pay Attention to Symptoms and Take Action: Dr. Thomas urges leaders and individuals not to ignore the signs. He initially dismissed his own symptoms as mere tiredness or fatigue. However, burnout is insidious and progressive; it gets worse, and simply acknowledging it is insufficient. Leaders must be close enough to their staff to notice when team members are “off” and headed toward burnout.

Recovery from Burnout

A final, powerful insight underscores the severity of the current situation: Dr. Thomas has recently found that organizations are asking him to shift his focus from burnout prevention to burnout recovery. So many employees are already immersed in burnout that their immediate need is hope and instruction on how to get back to their normal selves and achieve health, wholeness, and wellbeing.

The necessity of this focus is non-negotiable. Nonprofit missions, at the end of the day, depend entirely on people. If our organizations are to achieve breakthrough, our people must be well. We cannot afford to stay in burnout; our missions are too important.

To learn more about workplace burnout and recovery, tune into episode 162 of the Learning for Good podcast.

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