A third of charity communications staff are burnt out and seeking a new job, research has found.
A survey of 325 charity communications staff, carried out by CharityComms between November and January, found that 33 per cent of respondents were planning a career change.
The same figure reported feeling burnt out at work, up from 26 per cent in 2024.
CharityComms suggested charities should integrate wellbeing check-ins into standard one-to-one meetings and track overtime effectively, since 39 per cent of staff said that excessive workloads prevent them from doing a good job.
It also found an increase in the number of people who said they feel stressed at work, from 42 per cent in 2024 to nearly half of respondents in 2025.
Managers were more likely to feel stressed often, at just over 48 per cent, compared with those without management responsibilities, at just over 39 per cent.
Senior managers and executives experienced the most dissatisfaction with their jobs, with 11 per cent of senior managers feeling very unhappy and 25 per cent saying they were quite unhappy.
The survey found that job satisfaction was lower among communications staff at larger charities than at smaller organisations, at 48 per cent and 82 per cent respectively.
It also found that fundraisers reported the highest levels of satisfaction at 72 per cent, despite having the lowest salary.
The survey found that 63 per cent of communications professionals said they had no training or development opportunities planned for the next year.
People without any training planned were also more likely to consider a career move, at 36 per cent, compared with those who had training in the pipeline.
The report says: “Ensuring everyone in the team has a development plan, with measurable targets and goals, helps them feel more connected with their work as well as more positive about their working culture.”
People who felt their role does not help their long-term career are more likely to plan to leave, at 51 per cent, compared to those who felt they were progressing, at 22 per cent.
The intention to move roles in the next year also varied across specialisms, CharityComms said, with half of those working in campaigns and public affairs planning to do so.
People working in brand management were also highly likely to consider a career change, at 43 per cent.
The report found that the average salary among communications professionals was £43,168, a slight increase from £42,174 the year before.
People working in brand management had the highest average salary, at £48,000, while fundraising had the lowest, at £38,069.
One respondent said: “I think marketing and comms as a whole is significantly undervalued and underpaid.
“I understand the charity sector is going through it at the moment, and marketing is usually the first to go in financial uncertainty, but [it] feels very short-sighted of charities to do this if they want to grow.”