Inside the Minds of Young Social Impact Workers (Part 3): "Why Young Professionals Stay in the Social Impact Sector"

 Editor’s Note🖍🖉

 

In Parts 1 and 2, we shared anonymous interviews with young professionals working in the social impact sector. The practitioners who participated laid bare the raw, unfiltered hardships they face. They cautiously opened up about the diverse challenges they encounter, particularly regarding job stability and working conditions.

 

<Related Posts>

Inside the Minds of Young Social Impact Workers (Part 1): "Why Did You Enter the Social Impact Sector?“ 

Inside the Minds of Young Social Impact Workers (Part 2): "The Field Must Change for Youth to Come"

This post marks the final installment of our anonymous interview series. In today’s article, they share their honest thoughts on why they choose to stay in the social impact sector despite these difficulties, and what steps are truly necessary to attract more young talent to the ecosystem in the future.

 

To protect their privacy, only their nicknames and ages are listed.

Our interviewees are Cherry (27), Apple (35), and Orange (46).

 

Q. What have been the rewarding aspects and the core difficulties you experienced while preparing to enter this field, or after actually starting your work? (Pros and Cons)

 

🍊Orange: To start with the pros, my role involved supporting social impact enterprises, which naturally led me to become much more deeply interested in social issues. I find immense meaning in being a practitioner who supports both corporate growth and societal change, and in participating as an active member of society.

The con, however, is the constant underlying worry that the stability of employment and the general working conditions (such as salary and welfare) might be significantly inferior to those in conventional private corporations.

 

🍎Apple: I currently work within an intermediary organization. In my position, I am supposed to tell enterprises, “You need to create good, quality jobs for your employees.” But looking back, a recurring thought haunts me: “Have I myself actually been working in a good, stable job during my past seven years in this sector?”

Even so, there are undeniable rewards. Stepping outside the rigid boundaries of a conventional workplace allows me to feel a profound sense of fulfillment from engaging with diverse activities and societal agendas. When a critical issue arises, multiple organizations gather to co-author a proposal and deliver it to policymakers. Being able to contribute even a small amount of leverage to that process is an experience that is hard to come by at my age.

At one point, I constantly questioned myself, “Am I really doing meaningful work?” During those times, I would look at the employment statistics of vulnerable groups hired by social impact enterprises just to validate my own purpose.

But lately, I have truly come to believe. If social impact enterprises multiply according to their true inherent principles, a society where everyone can be genuinely happy might actually arrive.

I once listened to a detailed story about the 'Solar Income Village.' The revenue generated from solar power was reinvested into community welfare, such as a village restaurant, exercise equipment, and a local community bus. The residents weren't just temporarily satisfied by receiving cash handouts; rather, they were discovering collective happiness by living and thriving together in their community. If we expand this scope, wouldn't it be entirely possible in the very region where I live? To me, that is the essence of social impact.

 

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🍒Cherry: Starting with the cons, the most difficult part is that the path ahead is not clearly defined. By 'path,' I mean the long-term professional direction as a practitioner in the social impact sector.

Analyzing past projects and simply repeating them as-is isn't difficult at all. However, as I run these repetitive initiatives, the persistent doubts never disappear: "Is this truly the right way?" or "What new value can I actually create?" Meeting and talking with practitioners from various other regions doesn't magically clarify the path either. It becomes even more challenging because municipal ordinances differ by region, and there are clear disparities in organizational roles.

As for the pros—I'm not entirely sure why—but there aren't many young professionals in their 20s, like myself, working as activists or practitioners here. Perhaps because of that, the older generations look upon newcomers like me with incredible warmth. Some seniors have told me that just sharing the professional anxieties I hold is deeply commendable. As long as you have the mindset to learn and understand, you can ask questions over and over again without hesitation.

 

Q. Many young professionals leave for other sectors after working in the social impact field for just a few years. What do you think is the driving cause behind this? Furthermore, what do you believe is necessary to attract more young people in their 20s to the social impact sector?

 

🍒Cherry: I believe the root causes are the salary levels and the clear limitations in career growth. There needs to be adequate compensation, such as a fair living wage, performance-based rewards, and transparent promotion tracks. Currently, the vast majority of social impact organizations operate under a rigid, seniority-based HR system. As a result, no matter how hard you learn and how much performance you deliver, your position and salary are ultimately dictated solely by your years of continuous service. In such a structure, it is incredibly difficult for an individual to find motivation, and the organization itself inevitably becomes rigid. (By rigid, I mean focusing entirely on preventing mistakes from happening, rather than proactively thinking about how to improve and innovate.) If the fundamental framework of our labor environment changes, it will provide substantial motivation for young people.

 

🍊Orange: As a period of severe employment instability passed over the last few years, I learned through conversations with my colleagues that many practitioners in the social impact field chose to leave for other industries. Talking with them, I felt a deep sense of empathy when they shared how exhausting the work is despite its noble intentions, how difficult it is to sustain a sense of fulfillment, and how unstable the environment becomes due to shifting external political influences.

Ultimately, people need a proper environment to do their work. Building a sustainable ecosystem and supporting its practitioners requires establishing stable employment, ensuring decent working conditions, and intentionally creating spaces where experienced seniors and passionate juniors can share their expertise and capabilities.

 

🍎Apple: Young people overwhelmingly prefer large corporations or public institutions. They seek them out for salary and stability, but the common denominator between the two is that they are "workplaces you can proudly boast about anywhere you go."

In reality, from what I have seen, enterprises that receive an 'Excellent' rating on the Social Value Index (SVI) often do meet the baseline conditions young people desire—such as a decent salary, permanent positions, and fair welfare. So why do they still quit? This is where internal management and interpersonal issues tangle. Pushing young people straight onto the operational front lines without any structured training, assigning purely tedious administrative work to those who joined out of a desire to do meaningful tasks, or failing to invest in their professional capacity development—these are the factors that cause severe burnout.

Yet, I completely understand the perspective of the founders and CEOs. They are incredibly overwhelmed. They have to chase social value while simultaneously generating revenue, managing complex administrative paperwork, and maintaining various compliance conditions. Nevertheless, mature enterprises that have taken deep root in their local communities manage to balance all of these factors while maintaining high employee satisfaction. The employees at those organizations are usually individuals who were born and raised in the area, love their community, and enjoy the long-term satisfaction of a short commute and a stable career.

 

Q. Despite all of these challenges, what keeps you working in the social impact sector?

 

🍊Orange: I view this as a place where I can genuinely grow. While one can certainly grow in any other industry, I feel that I learn and mature immensely by directly interacting with the founders and practitioners working on the front lines of social enterprises.

Whether it is creating jobs that employ vulnerable groups such as the disabled or the elderly, reducing the financial burden of caregiving and medical expenses, or collaborating with local restaurants and shops to solve food insecurity for children—being able to walk alongside these causes and contribute to making the world a warmer place makes the hardship entirely worth the growth.

 

🍎Apple: To be perfectly honest, the primary reason is that since I have accumulated seven years of career experience exclusively in social impact, I feel like I have nowhere else to go (T.T). The second reason is that the people here are simply wonderful. Meeting and conversing with the social entrepreneurs in the field is incredibly joyful and inspiring. Being able to encounter truly mature adults is a profoundly moving and impactful experience. My heart genuinely races whenever I meet senior mentors whom I wish to emulate. The third reason is the unique appeal of managing both public administration and grassroots field realities simultaneously. I believe this is a rare, multi-faceted experience that cannot be easily acquired anywhere else.

 

🍒Cherry: Realistically, we face many difficult hurdles. However, I choose to believe in the potential that social value and economic value can be realized together. Moving forward, I hope the social and solidarity economy expands even further to become the fundamental framework of our society. I want to directly contribute to the process of building that future.

 

Q. If you could say one thing to your colleagues working in the social impact sector, what would it be?

 

🍒Cherry: Since entering this field, I have met individuals whom I had never easily encountered before in my life. Quite literally, they are people who sacrifice themselves 'just' to make the world a better place. In the world I knew before discovering the social impact sector, that simply made no sense. In that conventional world, there was no reason to move without adequate financial compensation, and investing time and money strictly required market viability. The mature adults I have met in this sector possess incredibly warm hearts, constantly trying to steer our society in a better direction while balancing ideals and harsh realities. This realization struck me with a force that shook my mind, and I feel immense gratitude toward them. I hope none of us grow weary; let us keep pushing forward together to firmly establish our ecosystem as a resilient mainstream framework.

 

🍎Apple: To our seniors: please intentionally nurture the next generation. Choose solidarity over solitude. When you pass down a piece of knowledge, don't view it as losing something; think of it as turning one into three.

To our juniors: are you perhaps feeling deeply exhausted by your work in the social impact sector right now? Does it feel like founders are constantly nagging and everything is a source of frustration? Even so, please try to hold on just a little longer. Soon, another layer of meaning that was previously invisible will begin to reveal itself. For our society to become a healthier place, the social impact sector must grow much more resilient. I truly hope we can gather, share our common anxieties, and talk through them together.

 

🍊Orange: I believe that simply meeting and experiencing such a diverse group of people serves as a powerful catalyst for personal growth. The depth of reflection and learning you extract from this journey ultimately depends on your own mindset and attitude. I am deeply grateful to everyone currently dedicated to the social impact field for acting as a vital foundation for mutual support, solidarity, and cooperation, even amidst these unfavorable conditions. I hope you always find strength, maintain a deep sense of fulfillment, and continue your vital work. I am cheering for you all.

This interview series was originally curated and published in Korean on my sister blog, [Social Hertz]. If you would like to check the original Korean series, please click the links below:

[Read Part 1 in Korean]

[Read Part 2 in Korean]