The Future Is Collective

0,00 €

TopicSocial Sciences

TopicSpirituality

AuthorNiloufar Khonsari

PublisherNorth Atlantic

Effective Workplace Strategies for Building a Culture of Care

A practical guide to transforming work culture for nonprofits and social-justice organizations, using principles of collective governance and participatory democracy Drawing on two decades of experience in community organizing and nonprofit work, Niloufar Khonsari guides us in transforming our workplaces by decentralizing power and implementing collective governance structures, centering principles of transparency, equity, and mutual care. Khonsari demystifies collective management for fellow activists, nonprofit workers, and com- munity leaders, providing real-world examples of successful organizational shifts.

Khonsari shares practical tools for transitioning to a shared leadership model; implementing equity-based pay scales; co-creating work expectations; nurturing both individual autonomy and collective respon- sibility; setting and respecting boundaries; and fostering a culture of learning, trust, accountability, and humility. They also address how to communicate these workplace changes to funding bodies and why being clear with funders about how and why you are transforming your organization is an essential part of the larger movement work you’re doing. Crucially, Khonsari also looks at how to handle toxic workplace dynamics, everyday conflicts, and job terminations, using a transformative-jus- tice approach. They call for nonprofit and movement leaders to embrace conflict resolution as a generative practice that builds and strengthens us and show how healthy feedback models within collective organizations can prevent larger issues from building up.

This book is not a one-size-fits-all plan; instead, readers are encouraged to draw from its rich collection of case studies, sample workplace policies, tools developed by activist collectives, and personal reflections of movement leaders to explore what works best for their organization at its current stage of growth and evolution.

FOR NONPROFIT MANAGERS AND WORKERS WHO WANT TO WALK THE TALK OF THEIR ORGANIZATION: There are 1.5 million nonprofits in the US, many of which have explicit mis- sions to work for democratic social change; this book helps organizations apply their values internally as well as externally.

BROAD CULTURAL SHIFTS AROUND WORK: The past few years have brought huge changes to how Americans think about work. Surveys have shown that 73% of U.S. workers became more conscious of needing self-care in 2020, while droves of people voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021 in what was dubbed by some economists as The Great Resignation. In the social-justice nonprofit sector, polls have shown high levels of burnout and turnover. Books o­ering concrete and practical solutions to transform the workplace will be welcome in our current cultural climate.