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Contribution short abstract

Based on ethnographic research in Beijing’s NGO (gongyi) sector, this paper shows how moralised ideals of NGO work silence material concerns, reproduce exclusion, and make long-term survival possible mainly for workers with multiple forms of capital.

Contribution long abstract

This paper draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the NGO (gongyi) sector in Beijing to examine how moral ideals, material constraints, and everyday survival intersect in the lives of NGO workers. While much existing literature portrays NGO work as driven primarily by altruism, commitment, and ethical motivation, my findings complicate this narrative by foregrounding NGO work as both moral labour and ordinary paid employment.

The paper advances two interrelated arguments. First, I show how over-romanticised moral ideals surrounding “doing gongyi” impose normative expectations that NGO workers should prioritise ethical commitment over material wellbeing. This moral framing conceals the reality that NGO work is also a means of making a living, particularly in high-cost urban settings such as Beijing. As a result, workers often feel compelled to remain silent about financial precarity, long working hours, and limited career prospects. With few legitimate channels to voice dissatisfaction, many experience fatigue and frustration, feeling stuck in work they no longer find sustainable.

Second, the paper argues that the persistent association of high morality with low financial return produces an exclusionary labour regime within the NGO sector. Long-term participation is disproportionately accessible to individuals who possess substantial social, cultural, and economic capital. Drawing on workers’ narratives, I demonstrate how family wealth, spousal income, elite education, and social networks buffer material insecurity. Crucially, no single form of capital is sufficient; rather, the simultaneous possession of multiple capitals enables sustained professional commitment and everyday survival.