I learned nursing because I enjoy helping people. I won't get started about how money took over the Health Care Profession here in the US, to the point that money is the ONLY point a lot of the time, but this topic of 'payment' for 'gifts' within a person has been on my mind lately.
I have a neighbor who does not hesitate to call me for every little ache, pain, or sign of illness, in herself or her husband. This neighbor is a 'Caregiver' for ill and elderly people. She herself will ONLY accept a job if it is well paid, (she may take a job for $10 and hour, but at that rate don't ask her to actually DO anything. For $15 to $17 and hour she will do some light housekeeping, when there is nothing on TV.), and very easy (she wants to be paid for just 'being there').
I have spent many hours of my time, and my own money, trying to 'help' her address her aliments...but, I have discovered, there is no end to her aliments and complaints.
I have heard that this same thing happens to doctors. Some have a hard time making personal friends outside of their circle of medical friends, because of this phenomenon.
As caridwin pointed out, you, me, any of us with a 'humanist' gift, can only 'work' at what we do because we have invested our own time, life force and wherewithal into getting good enough to be hired as a "professional".
There are some good suggestions here about how to deal with this, but it IS an ongoing problem, for a lot of people, in a variety of areas of the world of work.
IF someone needs help, and I am in a position to help, I will, payment or no, but, over and over what has happened is that I discover that those who 'whine', about how they would like to have this, or that, but "don't have any money", actually are materially way better off than me.
What they REALLY mean is, "I want to KEEP my money for other stuff", so will you do (insert whatever it is you do) for free, for me?"
I think it is the 'humanistic" nature inherent in some types of work, you are doing what you do to 'help' humanity, right? So this assumption sets up a 'catch 22', if you mention compensation then you have 'proved' (to whoever is trying to get the 'freebie') that you are NOT in it because you want to 'help', and they sort of rub your nose in that.
This is the reason we have 'business managers' (please don't take this wrong, but sort of like 'Pimps') in Health Care, Tarot sites, and so on. THEY have no problem asking for compensation for arranging services to be exchanged between the 'humanist' provider, and the consumer.
Good luck figuring a fair way out of this dilemma, I never have.