The vocational aspect of work in the Social Economy was affirmed by participants who indicated that many workers voluntarily agreed to forego up to 30% of the market value of their wages.

This discounted wage was an acknowledgement of their “passion” for the work and their regard for the social mission of programs.

But this fact also had less than beneficial consequences:

* contribution to staff turnover;
* burnout;
* directly or indirectly, a lack of professional development;
* inequity when discounted wages were compared with those of counterparts in the for-profit sector;
* impact on cultural sustainability; and the
* improbability of succession planning.

A poignant issue observed by a number of participants was the fact that while low income had the probability of generating low esteem for low income workers, they never-the-less retained a position of righteousness in that they were working for a high value (in their minds) social good.