The majority of people who work in animal shelters report they commonly have more work to do each day than they’re able to get done and are frequently required to do other staffers’ work as well as their own.
In the fall of 2012, Maddie’s InstituteSM conducted an online survey of executive directors, employees and volunteers from companion-animal care organizations across the country, seeking to assess overall levels of engagement among shelter employees, investigate what factors can increase engagement or disengagement, and provide resources to enable organizations to improve engagement.
Sixty-two percent of shelter workers report they can’t get all their work done in a single shift, and 58 percent say they frequently have to do other people’s work as well as their own.
These levels of overwork and job frustration are correlated with high job turnover. “Black Hawk Down at Work,” an article published by Harvard Business Review, reported those “who cared most about their work were the most demoralized when they were thwarted from doing their best…. For these high performers, factors they can’t control — role ambiguity, inadequate resources, and overwork itself — can hinder their best work and may ultimately drive them to seek jobs elsewhere.”
Full-time workers, as well as those in a supervisory or managerial position had the highest reported levels of excessive workload, greater than part-time workers, executive directors, or general staff.
Want more information? You’ll find a summary of our survey results here, and can view or download a PDF of the entire survey report here.