Between State and Market: The Non-Profit Workforce in a Changing Local Environment

Abstract

This article explores some impacts of relationships between the third sector, the state and the market on the non-profit sector workforce in Reading, England. We argue that: the growth of state influence has brought forth paid and unpaid workers to represent the sector to the state; in most non-profit organisations paid workers create the conditions for unpaid work. For a minority the opposite is true; labour in the non-profit sector is influenced by competition from the private sector for workers and ‘clients’; workers’ paid work, family commitments and market services limit volunteering, especially for what we term ‘lifestage’ volunteers.