Ways of working and organisational culture

Summary 

Our 2025 survey shows that charities are facing a decline in staff happiness. More than one fifth of respondents told us they are unhappy in their current role. This year’s data also recorded a significant rise in feelings of burnout, which has risen to a third of comms communicators since last year’s result of 26%. 

This section looks at what’s happening behind the figures and how we can better support staff, manage workloads and resource our teams more effectively. 

Managing workloads and expectations 

Working beyond contracted hours remains common in the sector but varies by role and expertise. Moderate overtime among directors and heads of department appears to be the norm, with 53.8% of directors and 42.2% of heads of saying they work 1 – 2 hours extra per week. 

CEOs are the most likely to work significant extra hours, with 41.7% working 3 – 5 hours extra and 25% working 10+ hours extra every week. Senior managers follow closely, with 35.7% working 3 – 5 hours extra. 

More generalist comms professionals who cover all areas work the most extra hours, followed by those in marketing and communication roles.  

Most starkly, there is an increase in both the number of people saying they feel burnt out at work (up from 26% to 33%) and those saying they often look for resources to prevent burnout (up from 9% to 14%). There is also an increase in the number of people who say they often feel stressed out at work, which rose to 48%of respondents from previous years (logging in at 42% in 2024 and 40% in 2023).

Managing people or teams appears to impact stress levels and workload. Managers are more likely to feel “often stressed” (48.4%) compared to those without management responsibilities (39.4%). Managers are also 13% more likely to work more than 3 hours of overtime per week than their non-management colleagues.  

Actions for charities to take to manage workload and expectations 

With nearly half of staff saying they often feel stressed and 39% reporting that excessive workloads prevent them from doing a good job, putting formal systems and processes in place could better support comms teams. 

• Track overtime more effectively: This is where “hidden work” can build up to become overwhelming, especially if it’s not recognised. Since overtime appears to be common, clearer boundaries should be set to prevent weekly overtime creeping up. Analyse what this time is really being spent on, to see how to more effectively delegate or reduce workloads.  

• Proactively prevent burnout: 14% of people say they currently feel that they need to search for burnout prevention resources. Charities should integrate wellbeing check-ins into standard 1-to-1 meetings, to build on the 32% of staff who feel their organisation currently helps manage wellbeing effectively. 

• Empower managers to manage workloads: Managers are 13% more likely to work significant overtime and report higher stress than non-managers. Training managers on how to manage their own workloads alongside managerial responsibilities or delegate work can also allow them to better support the career growth of their teams. 

• Work collaboratively with staff: Systems and frameworks can help staff see where their time is spent and where they are having the most impact. Just make sure there is some consistency across the suggested frameworks to ensure you can show an overview of capacity if needed.  

• Evaluate cross-team effectiveness: Just 43% of staff feel that cross-team communication is effective. Improving channels and guidance can reduce siloed ways of working and the stress of managing miscommunication by making sure expectations and capacity levels are clear. 

Job satisfaction and work-life balance 

Compared to 2024, we can see some negative trends in how happy people are in their role, with 21.6% saying they are unhappy in their current role (which is up from 17% last year).  

This trend is being driven by people with roles in the middle of seniority. Our survey showed that those feeling neither happy nor unhappy went down from 20% to 14%, perhaps indicating that they feel more motivated to express their true feelings.   

Though the number of those saying they are happy remains steady at 65%. 

Three quarters of people say that they have a good work–life balance, down from 81% last year, with 15% saying they don’t have a good work–life balance (up from 10%). 

Looking in more depth at role levels and responsibilities, CEOs and directors report feeling the most job satisfaction, with 71% of CEOs and 37.5% of directors reporting they are quite happy. 

Senior managers and senior executives appear to experience the most dissatisfaction, with 11.4% of senior managers feeling very unhappy and 25% of senior executives saying they are quite unhappy. Job satisfaction and work expectations together suggest more pressure on the middle-level workforce, where responsibility is high and autonomy or support may be lower than at the top. 

However, pressures are also apparent for senior leaders too.  

Heads of department and CEOs appear to struggle the most with finding a sustainable work-life balance, with only 18% of Heads of and 25% of CEOs saying they “strongly agree” they have a good balance. 

There also appears to be a visible correlation between the size of the operation and the wellbeing of its comms staff. People working in small charities (1-10 employees) and freelancers report the highest happiness levels and the best work-life balance. 25% of staff at small charities also “strongly agree” they have a good work-life balance. As charities grow, happiness scores tend to dip with those working at large charities (101-999 employees) expressing the lowest average happiness. 7.8% of those at large charities also “strongly disagree” that they have a good work-life balance, which is the highest across all categories. 

Actions for charities to take to improve job satisfaction and work-life balance 

Our results indicate that we are seeing a “squeezed middle” in the sector, with senior comms managers and executives in need of support to turn around their higher dissatisfaction rates.  

• Invest to eliminate the “squeezed middle”: Provide senior managers with better administrative support or more autonomy in their roles to reduce the stress associated with managing both upward expectations and team management needs downward. 

• Review “generalist” comms roles: Those who say they cover all areas or work in marketing/comms are more likely to work extra hours, so auditing these roles could uncover whether specific tasks (such as brand management or campaigns) might require additional dedicated staff or outsourced support. 

• Learn from others: There is much to learn from more agile work operations, so large charities could replicate applicable behaviours to achieve the better work-life balance seen in smaller charities. 

Investing in learning and development  

It’s encouraging to see an increase in those who’ve been able to take part in training and professional development opportunities during 2025.

Development opportunities help to increase the feeling an organisation is investing in an individual. We’ve seen that this appears to have a measurable impact on how satisfied employees feel in their roles, as well as their desire to make a career change. 26.2% of those with training booked over the next 12 months said they plan to move roles, compared to 35.8% of those with no training. 

People who feel their role is helping their long-term career are nearly three times more likely to stay in their current role without plans to move (19.4%) compared to those who feel stagnant (6.9%). 

The group most likely to want to leave are those who feel their current role does not help progress their longer-term career. 51% of this group are actively planning to move, compared to only 21.8% of those who feel their role is helping them progress. 

Actions for charities to take to invest in learning and development 

Investment in development is a direct investment in retention. Staff who feel their progression has stagnated or who are left in the dark about their development are significantly more likely to become active job seekers. 

• Create targeted training plans: individuals with no training planned are more likely to think about a move (35.8%) than those with training (26.2%). Ensuring everyone in the team has a development plan, with measurable targets and goals, helps them feel more connected with their work as well as more positive about their working culture. 
• Focus on career progression: those who feel their role does not help their long-term career are more than twice as likely to plan to leave (51%) compared to those who feel they are progressing (21.8%). Mentoring and role-shadowing, which are currently cited as the least-used forms of development across our respondents, could be offered more widely to provide a sense of growth without high external costs. 
• Diversify learning formats: webinars are very popular when it comes to training options (78%), but increasing shared learning and mentoring can also help teams build the professional networks that can support their future career. Part of this work is helping options become more visible, as well as encouraging colleagues to take varied opportunities to see what learning and development supports them most.  

Retention and career development 

The intention to move roles in the next 12 months varies across role specialisms, with 50% of those working in campaigns and public affairs planning to change jobs in the next year. Those working in brand management also show a higher desire to make a change at 43%. 

The data also shows a link between workplace culture and retention. 44.4% of people who feel “often stressed” are more than twice as likely to be planning a career move in the next 12 months, compared to only 18.2% of those who are less  frequently stressed. 

How happy people feel in their role also has a major impact on the desire to leave a role, with 88% of those who are “very unhappy” planning to leave within the next 12 months, while 59.1% of “very happy” individuals have no plans to leave their current role. 

When it comes to looking for a new role, we continue to see that sector-specific job boards and LinkedIn are the favourites. Sector-specific job boards are used by nearly three-quarters of the workforce with LinkedIn a very close second (68%), highlighting the importance of digital networking and professional branding in the sector.  

Referrals and networks are cited by almost a quarter of people, suggesting again that personal connections and networking can be a key aspect of job hunting. 

Interestingly, those in heads of and senior manager roles are the super-users of sector-specific job boards, with over 80% using them. They also use recruitment consultancies much more frequently (25-40%) than more junior staff. CEOs report the lowest usage of standard digital tools. Only 26% use LinkedIn and 37% use job boards. This pattern suggests that at the highest level, roles are more likely to be found through headhunters or personal networks. 

Actions for charities to take to support staff retention and career growth 

• Acknowledge potential unhappiness and stress levels: Since 88% of “very unhappy” communicators are planning to leave within the year, it’s vital for people to have supportive methods in place to report when they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, so that action can be taken before people reach burnout stage and/or decide to leave. 
• Integrate career progression into roles: 51% of those who feel their role does not help their long-term career are actively planning to leave, so including career progression discussions into one-to-one meetings or appraisals can help demonstrate how a current role can lead to future goals. 
• Leverage digital branding: With 68% of the workforce using LinkedIn and nearly three-quarters using job boards, maintaining a strong digital professional brand is essential for staying visible in the sector, particularly when it comes to recruitment and getting job listing visibility with highly relevant individuals.