The proportion of charity communications professionals that received time off or compensation for working extra hours has dropped by almost 20 percentage points in just a year, new research has found.
The percentage of communications professionals that received time off in lieu for additional hours worked dropped from 52 per cent in 2022 to just 34 per cent last year, a survey of charity comms staff by the membership organisation CharityComms has found.
This year’s survey found that none of the almost 350 respondents received monetary compensation for working over their hours, compared with nearly 1 per cent in 2022.
The report says comments submitted alongside survey questions showed two main reasons for this finding: flexible working where there was no official organisational policy for taking time off in lieu, and people working extra hours without letting anyone know.
“Working extra hours for no recompense should not be the norm, and these figures point to the need to formalise policies and processes around taking time off in lieu, or, at the very least, ensuring people can get support,” it says.
This follows Third Sector’s in-depth report on the effects of social media burnout on charity communications staff, which discussed ways that charities can support its social media managers and teams.
But the number of extra hours that people felt the need to work had dropped since 2022’s survey, the report adds. The percentage of those working no extra hours at all rose from 15 per cent to 23 per cent.
For those working for three or more extra hours a week, there was an 8 percentage point drop.
The survey also found that the average salary for those working in communications roles in charities had increased from £39,390 in 2022 to £42,764 in 2023/24.
The average salaries rose across all job levels, with the largest increase at director level, which rose from £60,063 to £66,370.
Of those asked, 17 per cent said they had received a cost-of-living salary increase, which was up by 8 percentage points cent from last year.
But the report says this “does not necessarily make up for inflation and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, and seems to have had little effect on how charity communicators feel about rates of pay”.
The survey also found that the downward trend in those saying that their organisation has a specific digital strategy has continued, dropping from 34 per cent in 2022 to just 28 per cent in 2023.
Just half of respondents agreed that there was a good understanding of communications from their charity’s board or at senior management level, with 32 per cent saying no outright.
The survey consulted nearly 350 people working in charity communications roles and was carried out between November and January, in partnership with Agenda Consulting.
Adeela Warley, chief executive of CharityComms, said: “These powerful personal stories help bring to life the trends and the challenges the profession is facing.
“We can’t rely solely on the commitment and professional pride communicators bring to their work without creating the structures and cultures which value their skills, set positive working norms and reward staff for upholding them.”