SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Çalışma ve Toplum / 2026 / Cilt: 4 Sayı: 91

The Precarization of NGO Employment and the Coping Strategies

STK İstihdamının Prekarizasyonu ve Başetme Stratejileri

Ahmet Bekmen(ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCES)0000-0003-4500-4796
Ateş Uslu(ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCES)0000-0002-3015-7784
Güven Gürkan Öztan(ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCES)0000-0001-6752-1191
Pages
2045–2076
Publication Date
2026-10-23
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Overall, the study shows that humanitarian aid employees, on the one hand, normalise and adapt to the precariousness embedded in their working conditions; on the other hand, as this same process erodes the social and emotional significance they attach to their work, it fosters increasing alienation from the sector.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examines the work experiences of professional middle-class employees in humanitarian aid NGOs, drawing on data from a field study conducted in Türkiye.
📊
Key Findings & Data:First, it analyzes the strategies developed by humanitarian aid employees to cope with various dimensions of precarization—such as job insecurity, wage pressure, and intense and exhausting labour processes—as well as the limits of these strategies.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Overall, the study shows that humanitarian aid employees, on the one hand, normalise and adapt to the precariousness embedded in their working conditions; on the other hand, as this same process erodes the social and emotional significance they attach to their work, it fosters increasing alienation from the sector.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:STK İstihdamı · Profesyonel Orta Sınıflar · Prekarizasyon

Abstract

This study examines the work experiences of professional middle-class employees in humanitarian aid NGOs, drawing on data from a field study conducted in Türkiye. It advances two interrelated lines of analysis. First, it analyzes the strategies developed by humanitarian aid employees to cope with various dimensions of precarization—such as job insecurity, wage pressure, and intense and exhausting labour processes—as well as the limits of these strategies. Second, it explores how dimensions specific to humanitarian aid employment, including social motivation, job satisfaction, and emotional rewards, interact with and shape experiences of precarization. Overall, the study shows that humanitarian aid employees, on the one hand, normalise and adapt to the precariousness embedded in their working conditions; on the other hand, as this same process erodes the social and emotional significance they attach to their work, it fosters increasing alienation from the sector.

Özet

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de yürütülen bir saha araştırmasından elde edilen verilere dayanarak, insani yardım STK’larında çalışan profesyonel orta sınıf çalışanların iş deneyimlerini incelemektedir. Çalışma, birbiriyle ilişkili iki analiz ekseni ortaya koymaktadır. İlk olarak, insani yardım çalışanlarının iş güvencesizliği, ücret baskısı ve yoğun ve yorucu çalışma süreçleri gibi güvencesizleşmenin çeşitli boyutlarıyla başetmek için geliştirdikleri stratejileri ve bu stratejilerin sınırlarını analiz etmektedir. İkinci olarak, sosyal motivasyon, iş tatmini ve duygusal ödül gibi insani yardım istihdamına özgü boyutların, güvencesizlik deneyimleriyle nasıl etkileşime girdiğini ve bu deneyimleri nasıl şekillendirdiğini araştırmaktadır. Çalışma, insani yardım çalışanlarının bir yandan çalışma koşullarına yerleşik güvencesizliği normalleştirdiklerini ve buna uyum sağladıklarını; diğer yandan ise, bu sürecin işlerine atfettikleri sosyal ve duygusal önemi aşındırması nedeniyle, sektörden giderek daha fazla uzaklaşmalarına neden olduğunu göstermektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Bekmen, A., Uslu, A., Öztan, G. G. (2026). The Precarization of NGO Employment and the Coping Strategies. Çalışma ve Toplum, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 91, 2045–2076. https://doi.org/10.54752/ct.1948617

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (51)

  1. ALNAP (2026). The State of the Humanitarian System 2026.
  2. Akyüz, A.A. (2010). Civic agency at work: Sense making and labour process of professionals in issue based non-governmental organizations in Turkey (Doctoral dissertation). İstanbul Bilgi University.
  3. Alacovska, A. (2018). Informal creative labour practices: A relational work perspective. Human Relations, 71(12), 1563–1589. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718754991
  4. Ana, A. (2024). The NGOization of Social Movements in Neoliberal Times. Gender and Politics. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
  5. Anheier, H.K., Hollerwerger, E., Badelt, C. & Kendall, J. (2003). Work in the non-Profit Sector: Forms, Patterns and Methodologies. International Labour Office.
  6. Armano, E., Murgia, A. (2017). “Hybrid areas of work in Italy. Hypotheses to interpret the transformations of precariousness and subjectivity.” In Armano, E., Bove, A., Murgia, A. (eds.), Mapping Precariousness, Labour Insecurity and Uncertain Livelihoods, London&New York: Routledge, 47-59.
  7. Armano, E., Morini, C. & Murgia, A. (2022). “Conceptualizing Precariousness: A Subject-oriented Approach.” In J. Choonara, A. Murgia & R.M. Carmo (eds.), Faces of Precarity, Bristol: Bristol University Press, 29-43.
  8. Baker, C. (2014). The local workforce of international intervention in the Yugoslav successor states: ‘Precariat’or ‘projectariat’? Towards an agenda for future research. International Peacekeeping, 21(1), 91-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/13533312.2014.899123
  9. Benz, M. (2005). Not for the Profit, but for the Satisfaction? – Evidence on Worker Well-Being in Non-Profit Firms. Kyklos. International Review for Social Science, 58(2), 155-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-5962.2005.00283.x
  10. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In Richardson, J. (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, Westport, CT: Greenwood, 241–58.
  11. Butler, N. & Russell, D.S. (2018). No funny business: Precarious work and emotional labour in stand-up comedy. Human Relations, 71(12), 1666–1686. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718758880
  12. Cicmil, S., Lindgren, M. & Packendorff, J. (2016). The project (management) discourse and its consequences: on vulnerability and unsustainability in project‐based work. New Technology, Work and Employment, 31(1), 58-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12058
  13. Clarke, G. (1998). Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Politics in the Developing World. Political Studies, 46(1), 36–52.
  14. Delisle, J. (2020). Working time in multi-project settings: How project workers manage work overload. International Journal of Project Management, 38(7), 419-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.04.001
  15. Doshi, V., Segarra, P. & Śliwa, M. (2025). Precarious work: A critical review and a proposal for future research. Human Relations, 79(2), 215-245. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267251394583
  16. Eagleton-Pierce, M. (2020). The rise of managerialism in international NGOs. Review of International Political Economy, 27(4), 970-994. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1657478
  17. Ebrahim, A. (2003). NGOs and Organizational Change: Discourse, Reporting, and Learning. Cambridge University Press.
  18. Evetts, J. (2013). Professionalism: Value and ideology. Current Sociology Review, 61(5-6), 778–796. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392113479316
  19. Gill, R. (2014). Academics, Cultural Workers and Critical Labour Studies. Journal of Cultural Economy, 7(1), 12-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2013.861763
  20. Greer, I., Samaluk, B. & Umney, C. (2018). Toward a precarious projectariat? Project dynamics in Slovenian and French social services. Organization Studies, 40(12), 1873-1895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618800109
  21. Guest, G.S., Macqueen, K.M. & Namey, E.M. (2012). Applied Thematic Analysis. Sage Publications.
  22. Güner, D. (2019). Türkiye’de Sivil Toplum Çalişanları: Neoliberalizm, Özneleşme ve Karşı Tutumlar (Doctoral dissertation). Mimar Sinan Fine Art University.
  23. Ilık, B. (2000). Kriz durumları ve STK pratikleri. Sivil Toplum. İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yayınları.
  24. Ismail, F, Kamat, S. (2018). NGOs, Social Movements and the Neoliberal State: Incorporation, Reinvention, Critique. Critical Sociology, 44(4-5), 569-577. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920517749804
  25. Jałocha, B. (2018). Are Projects Changing Public Servants Into Projectarians? Projectifıcation’s Influence On Employees in the Polish Public Sector. International Journal of Contemporary Management, 17(2), 63–83. doi:10.4467/24498939IJCM.18.018.8542
  26. Joachim, J. & Schneiker, A. (2018). Humanitarian NGOs as Businesses and Managers: Theoretical Reflection on an Under-Explored Phenomenon. International Studies Perspectives, 19(2), 170–187. https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekx001
  27. Kalleberg, A.L. & Vallas, S.P. (2018). “Probing precarious work: Theory, research, and politics.” In A.L. Kalleberg & S.P. Vallas (eds.) Precarious work, Bingley UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, 1-30.
  28. Kan, E. (2020). Weaving Subjectivity at the Crossroads of Volunteerism and Professionalism: Coping with Precarity in A Health Care NGO (MA dissertation). Sabancı University.
  29. Kap, D. (2021, June 15). “Türkiye’de Sivil Toplum Çalışanı Olmak (3) Sivil Alanda İK Politikalarının Önemi Kavranmadı!” Retrieved from, https://www.sivilsayfalar.org/2021/06/15/turkiyede-sivil-toplum-calisani-olmak-3-sivil-alanda-ik-politikalarinin-onemi-kavranmadi/
  30. Keane, J. (ed.) (1988). Civil Society and the State: New European Perspectives, London: Verso.
  31. Keyman, F. E. & İçduygu, A. (2003). Globalization, Civil Society and Citizenship in Turkey: Actors, Boundaries and Discourses. Citizenship Studies, 7(2), 219–234.
  32. Kutay, A. (2021). NGOs, Civil Society and Structural Changes, Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  33. Kuzmanovic, D. (2012). Refractions of Civil Society in Turkey, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  34. Lloyd-Walker, B., Crawford, L. & French, E. (2018). Uncertainty as opportunity: the challenge of project based careers. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 11(4), 886-900. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-04-2017-0044
  35. Mer, A. & Virdi, A.S. (2021). Human resource challenges in NGOs: need for sustainable HR practices. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17(6), 818-837. 10.1504/WREMSD.2021.10042154
  36. Mikołajczak, P. (2021a). What affects employment by NGOs? Counteraction to precarious employment in the Polish non-profit sector in the perspective of COVID-19 pandemic crises. Oeconomia Copernicana, 12(3), 761-788. 10.24136/oc.2021.025
  37. Mikołajczak, P. (2021b). Do nonprofit organizations experience precarious employment? The impact of NGO commercialization. Public Organization Review, 21(3), 595-609. 10.1007/s11115-021-00512-w
  38. Mikołajczak, P. (2022). Determinants of precarious employment in social enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Business Research, 146, 398-408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.085
  39. Mühlenhoff, H. (2015). Depoliticizing the politicized? The effects of the EU’s civil society funding in the context of hegemonic struggles in Turkey (Doctoral dissertation). Universität Tübingen.
  40. Norton, A. R. (ed.) (1994). Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 1. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  41. Norton, A. R. (ed.) (1995). Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 2. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Pascucci, E. (2019). The local labour building the international community: Precarious work within humanitarian spaces. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 51(3), 743-760. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X18803366
  42. Roberts, S. M., Jones, J. P., & Fröhling, O. (2005). NGOs and the globalization of managerialism: A research framework. World Development, 33(11), 1845–1864.
  43. Rodriguez, J.K., Ridgway, M., Oldridge, L. & Edwards, M. (2024). Technologies of Self-Care in Precarious Neoliberal Academia: Women Academics’ Craftwork as Strategies of Coping and Complicity. Work, Employment and Society, 39(4), 836-858. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170241297523
  44. Rose-Ackerman, S. (1996). Altruism, Nonprofits, and Economic Theory. Journal of Economic Literature, 34(2), 701–728. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2729219
  45. Shoss, M.K. (2017). Job insecurity: An integrative review and agenda for future research. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1911-1939. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206317691574
  46. Springer, N. & Rick, J. (2025). Coping with Precarity: Journalists’ Strategies to Find Ease in a Professionally Vulnerable Situation. Digital Journalism, 13(5), 990-1008. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2475179
  47. Szreder, K. (2021). The ABC of the projectariat. Living and working in a precarious art world, Manchester: Manchester University Press and the Whitworth.
  48. Styhre, A. (2017). Precarious Professional Work, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
  49. Umney, C. & Kretsos, L. (2015). That’s the Experience: Passion, Work Precarity, and Life Transitions Among London Jazz Musicians: Passion, Work Precarity, and Life Transitions Among London Jazz Musicians. Work and Occupations, 42(3), 313-334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888415573634
  50. Valenzuela, F., Manolchev, C., Böhm, S. & Agar, C.C. (2024). Working through (mis)recognition: Understanding vulnerability as ambivalence in precarious worker subjectivity. Human Relations, 77(10), 1436–1467. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267231186261
  51. Velasco, M.M.A. & Wald, A. (2022). The dark side of projectification: a systematic literature review and research agenda on the negative aspects of project work and their consequences for individual project workers. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 15(2), 272-298. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-05-2021-0117