What affects employment by NGOs? Counteraction to precarious employment in the Polish non-profit sector in the perspective of COVID-19 pandemic crises

Abstract

Research background: The precarious employment in non-governmental organizations has not been the subject of thorough scientific considerations so far. Meanwhile, the dominance of flexible forms of employment in an organization evokes a sense of instability, insecurity and uncertainty among employees. It weakens the relationship between staff and the organization, which, by not providing employees with prospects for permanent employment, creates a threat to its own development. The COVID-19 pandemic is reinforcing these fears as the situation in the labour market continues to deteriorate.
 Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting NGOs employment of contract employees, as a key condition for crowding out precarious employment.
 Methods: Logistic regression analysis was conducted based on a national representative survey of 1500 Polish NGOs.
 Findings & value added: Its results indicate that NGOs are increasing the employment of contract staff in order to cope with the excessive bureaucracy of public administration. A stimulating impact on employment is also provided by difficulties in maintaining good staff and volunteers, as well as when there is no sense of security in running an organization. In turn, the lack of people ready to selflessly get involved in an organization's activities, as well as difficulties in accessing premises appropriate to NGOs both reduce the desire among staff to be employed full-time. The monitoring of precarious employment (PE) in NGOs is of key importance in the shaping and effectiveness of national policies aimed at improving the living standards of society as a whole. NGOs are an important element, as they fill the gaps remaining in the implementation of such policies. In the long term, improving the quality of full-time employment in such entities by reducing the barriers to their activity will increase their potential for fulfilling their social mission. To date, such barriers and their relation to employment have not been considered in research literature. However, a considerable proportion of employees in the Polish NGO sector may join the ranks of those excluded from employment and deprived of income due to the crisis on the job market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article contributes to the existing literature and practice by identifying the influence of wide spectrum of barriers of NGOs activity on permanent employment.

Remote work burnout, professional job stress, and employee emotional exhaustion during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Counterproductive behaviors (Lăzăroiu and Adams, 2020 ) while performing remote work can lead to employee burnout, professional dissatisfaction (Mikołajczak, 2021 ), and job turnover intentions. The COVID-19-related remote work was associated with physical and emotional exhaustion (Bratu, 2020a , b ), intensified burnout risk prevalence, diminished personal accomplishment (Landmesser, 2021 ), decreased employee involvement (Nemţeanu et al, 2021a , b ), low-performance symptoms, and generalized fatigue (Bruyneel et al, 2021 ; Milch et al, 2021 ; Venkatesh et al, 2021 ) brought about by increased workload.…”

Green and Digital Transitions

“…The usage of flexible job options was one strategy for reducing unemployment (Mura et al, 2020). Employers benefit from non-standard employment arrangements since they lower personnel costs and make it simpler to end a contract in a recession (Mikołajczak, 2021). Employees' desire to work in non-standard forms (fixed-term employment, part-time employment, and self-employment) depends on the state of the market and the laws that are in effect; these laws affect the extent to which these forms are used in various economies.…”

Finansowanie przedsiębiorstw społecznych w Polsce w warunkach gospodarki 4.0

“…Na przedsiębiorczość społeczną nakładane są założenia i cele wykraczające poza wymiar oparty na wskaźnikach liczbowych. Wynika to z idei ekonomii społecznej, formy prawnej przedsiębiorstw społecznych, struktury ich zarządzania, zatrudnienia, dostępnych zasobów oraz sposobów finansowania tych podmiotów (Mikołajczak, 2021b;Waligóra 2022a). Konkludując, od przedsiębiorstw społecznych wymaga się więcej niż od innych podmiotów gospodarujących; często też przedsiębiorstwa społeczne otrzymują różnorakie preferencje (np.…”