On Our Minds

by Nakia James-Jenkins (she/her)

With 2020 in the rear-view mirror and Covid-19 vaccinations starting to gain traction, we’ve been thinking a lot about what lasting impacts the events of last year will have on social sector workplaces. What does returning to the office look like for nonprofits, mission-driven businesses, and other organizations—and when will it happen? What’s going to be different about our work environments, and what—if anything—will stay the same? So we asked the mission-driven organizations in our circle.

In navigating this new remote workstyle, it appears the sector has been thinking deeply about how to reimagine and redesign organizational growth. The results include a wide variety of creative, tangible changes to policies and practices that allow for greater flexibility for their staff—both in how they work and how they grow. Of course, this looks different for every organization and role. Some jobs and fields better lend themselves to flexibility in scheduling and location than others. But we have seen a genuine effort across the social sector to provide employees with the support they need to thrive. 

And it looks like much of this is here to stay. Not only because these new creative changes and additional support systems will get organizations through this pandemic, but also because they established a more flexible, empathic, and human-centered workplace. Organizations excel when their most valuable assets—their people—are given the necessary tools to reach their full potential, regardless of location.   

Read our full report to learn more about the key takeaways from this survey.