work life balance

Staff and volunteers' good state of mental health and emotional wellbeing is highly necessary for carrying out your nonprofit's mission, yet workplace stress can easily lead to mental health challenges. A workplace wellbeing program can aid individuals working on behalf of your nonprofit with issues ranging from the normal need to find an appropriate work-life balance to preventing the extremes of developing unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance use. Below are tools to implement changes at your own organization.

Lisa Finaldi, North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation

Ask a three-year-old what she wants to be when she grows up, and the answer is just as likely to be superhero or mermaid as veterinarian or engineer. 

But inside that preschooler’s brain, a foundation is being built that will play a large role in determining her future school and career success. That’s because during a child’s earliest years, his or her experiences are built into the body, shaping the architecture of the brain and creating the foundation for future learning and health. 

Sabbaticals can be a win-win for your organization and everyone in it. Sabbaticals Help Keep Good Executives offers lessons and advice from nonprofit leaders who have taken sabbaticals. (North Carolina Center for Nonprofits)

Employees in direct service organizations are often subject to compassion fatigue as a result of working in high-stress environments. This checklist can assist in determining if employees are suffering from compassion fatigue, burnout, or secondary traumatic stress. (Professional Quality of Life by B. Hudnall Stamm, 2009-2012)