This week, we’re noticing a growing shift toward treating workforce wellbeing as essential to organizational infrastructure–from funders reconsidering their responsibilities to employers responding to workers’ financial needs. These trends point to something bigger than preventing burnout. The sector is questioning what it looks like when investments are prioritized for the people and infrastructure behind the mission.

What if burnout is telling us something about the systems people are working inside, and not just telling us what is wrong with the workforce? This week’s research and trends point to a familiar pattern: nonprofit workers are carrying growing demands while navigating funding instability, inadequate resources, rising costs, uncertainty, and moral complexity. The silver lining is that we’re also seeing organizations experiment with more collective, structural approaches to wellbeing.

After a two-month summer pause, the Bi-Weekly Wellbeing Brief is back! We revamped our branding for a fresher look, and added a new section with our own personal insights on what we’re seeing in our work as Organizational Wellbeing Strategists and People + Culture Partners.