Nearly half of Northern Irish voluntary sector employees said that high levels of burnout made it a challenge to retain staff, research has found.

A survey of almost 250 people working in the Northern Irish voluntary sector, published by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, found that 48 per cent said high levels of burnout was making it difficult to retain staff. 

The research, which was based on an online survey of Nicva members carried out between November and December and three focus groups with a total of 39 participants, found that 42 per cent of voluntary organisations faced difficulties retaining staff in the past year.

The high levels of burnout were a major challenge for retention, with focus groups citing excessive workloads caused by high demand and limited resources, job insecurity from short-term contracts and difficulty taking accumulated hours off as key causes.

Other retention challenges identified included salary levels failing to match the rising cost of living, which 59 respondents agreed with. 

Of those surveyed, 52 per cent said other sectors were perceived as offering better terms of employment, causing retention difficulties. Short-term contracts were also mentioned as a challenge by 52 per cent of respondents.

The report also found that half of respondents faced difficulties recruiting staff in the past year.

One key barrier to recruitment was salary levels, with 76 per cent of respondents saying that uncompetitive salaries in the sector made it difficult to recruit staff.

Organisations also struggled with insufficient numbers of candidates, the report says, finding that 71 per cent of respondents said too few job applicants was a barrier to recruitment.

More than half of respondents said that short-term contracts were a barrier to recruitment, with the report saying: “The combination of low wages and instability caused by short-term funding was described as a cyclical problem for the sector overall.”

The report calls for immediate structural reforms to address these challenges, including stable, long-term funding and increased partnership working. It also calls for improved promotion of the benefits of working in the sector and the development of clear educational pathways, in-work learning programmes and mentoring to attract a diverse workforce.

Celine McStravick, chief executive of Nicva, said: “The people who work and volunteer in the sector deliver essential, often life-changing public services, but they cannot continue to do so without fair pay and greater support.

“Their dedication is undeniable, yet unsustainable under the current funding model, which lacks job security and many are facing recurring three-month contracts.

“It’s crucial that government and funders recognise the value of this sector and ensure it is properly resourced to continue its vital work in our communities.”