153: It's a Triple Whammy | How to Fix the Culture of Overwork at Your Nonprofit with Rachel Platt

If your team is exhausted, overwhelmed, and constantly working nights and weekends, you might be dealing with more than a scheduling issue. You might be dealing with a culture problem that is hurting your mission.

In this episode, I invited my friend and people strategy expert Rachel Platt of Plattinum Consulting to talk with me about the hidden issues inside nonprofit overwork and what it really takes to build a sustainable organizational culture.

Real Listener Question: I'm a new staff member, and everyone at this nonprofit works tons of overtime without being paid (as hourly employees). The ED works all the time, and the team is drowning under an unspoken expectation to always be on. How do we fix it??

In this conversation, Rachel and I dig into what overwork actually signals inside a nonprofit, why compliance and culture go hand in hand, and how leaders can unintentionally create burnout without ever meaning to. We also talk about the uncomfortable truth that many nonprofits have normalized unhealthy habits in the name of "the mission," and why that approach backfires every time.

We share practical ways to reset expectations, open the right conversations, and rebuild trust without blame. You might hear some things that feel familiar, because almost everyone in the sector has lived some version of this.

What You'll Learn:

• The first steps to take when your team is chronically overworking
• How leadership habits shape culture more than policies
• Why "mission passion" cannot replace fair compensation or boundaries
• What you can and cannot ask hourly staff to do
• Simple tools that help reset norms around urgency and availability
• How to start culture change when you're the new person on the team
• Why clarity, consistency, and modeling healthy behavior matter

Bottom line: Your people are how your mission gets done. If they are burning out, you are losing capacity, trust, and impact. A healthier culture is possible, but it starts with honest conversations and leadership modeling the behavior they want to see.

Resources from this Episode

• Learn more about Platinum Consulting: https://www.plattinumconsulting.com/
• Reach out to Rachel Platt here: [email protected]
• Previous Episode: When an Entrepreneur has a "Really Good" Nonprofit Idea https://birkenlaw.com/charity-therapy-podcast/ct152/  
• Episode Transcript: https://birkenlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CT153_Transcript.pdf

Connect with Us

• Jess Birken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessbirken/
• Rachel Platt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelplatt/

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