A survey by recruitment website Charity Job Finder has uncovered ‘alarming' workplace challenges driving staff away from the third sector.
The findings from more than 300 respondents highlight deep-rooted issues of poor leadership, workplace toxicity and burnout that employers must urgently address to retain skilled professionals, say the researchers.
Key findings of the survey were:
- Toxic workplace culture was the most common reason for leaving (62.1%), followed by poor management (13.8%) and low salary/lack of benefits (9.7%).
- Employees overwhelmingly described their workplaces as toxic, chaotic and stressful, citing excessive workloads and emotional strain.
- Leadership failures were a major issue, with only 1% of respondents rating their management as excellent, while 52.8% described it as mediocre.
- Fair and transparent leadership (40.7%) and training and development (20%) were the top factors that could have encouraged staff to stay.
- Burnout and work-related stress were widespread, with 70.3% of respondents reporting frequent or constant stress.
The survey paints a stark picture of widespread dissatisfaction in the third sector, where many employees feel undervalued, unsupported and overworked. The most commonly cited reason for leaving was a toxic workplace culture, followed by poor management and a lack of fair pay. Respondents described their work environments as stressful, chaotic and emotionally exhausting, with many facing excessive workloads and pressure to meet unrealistic expectations.
Leadership failures were a recurring theme, with over half of respondents rating management as mediocre or poor. Many reported experiences of bullying, lack of career development opportunities and governance failures that led them to walk away. A striking 0% of respondents said they “never” felt stressed at work, indicating that burnout is endemic across the sector, the researchers said.
They added that third sector employers must prioritise staff well-being, improve leadership and create fairer, more transparent workplaces to retain skilled professionals.
Respondents highlighted that greater leadership accountability, better career progression and more supportive workplace cultures could have convinced them to stay.
Bev Garside, senior partner at Charity Job Finder, said:
“These findings should serve as a wake-up call for the third sector. Employees want better leadership, clearer career pathways and fairer workplaces but we also need to recognise the challenges that managers face. Many are navigating complex demands with little support, limited funding for professional development and few opportunities for peer learning. Management can be a lonely and difficult role and without investment in leadership training and mentoring, even the most committed managers will struggle to create the positive workplaces we all want to see. If we truly want to improve staff retention, we must build a sector that supports not just frontline workers but also the managers tasked with leading them.”
