This paper reports recruitment and retention findings from a series of comprehensive, in-depth interviews with emergency service volunteers from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and the NSW State Emergency Service. The research shows that the strongest inducement to join emergency services is based on mobilising personal relationships. The research also shows that issues around retention are manifested at a personal level, where the relationships in the team are vital, but that organisational factors also have an impact on turnover. It is concluded that recruitment and retention of emergency services volunteers, like their paid counterparts, is an issue and that this may affect sustainability of emergency services and other organisations that rely on volunteers. Recommendations are made to enhance recruitment and retention in emergency services and other organisations utilising volunteers.
Although volunteering is a strongly held value in many Christian churches, there may be important denominational differences in the extent to which this volunteering is encouraged as a church activity or whether attendees volunteer in the wider community. Some information about the voluntary activities of church attendees across Australia was collected as part of the National Church Life Surveys in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006. This analysis examined denominational differences in volunteering within and beyond the congregation to identify whether the patterns have changed or remained stable over time. Involvement in social welfare and social justice volunteering also showed a fairly stable denominational pattern across the four years for both congregational-based and community-based involvement. Information on the total hours of volunteering was collected in 2001 and 2006 only. After demographic differences were taken into account, Pentecostals volunteered more hours within the congregation and Catholics volunteered fewer; however, there were no denominational differences in hours of volunteering beyond the congregation. The number of hours volunteered in each congregation was stable across 2001 and 2006. The strongest finding was that volunteering within the congregation was strongly related to volunteering beyond the congregation with many people volunteering in both the congregation and the community.
This paper seeks to describe the volunteering experiences of female single parents engaged in Australia's welfare-to-work program. Interviews were conducted with 26 single parents who had been required to increase their hours of work as a condition of the Centrelink policy introduced in 2006. To analyse the data, the technique of rich point analysis was employed which identified three key concepts central to the women's experiences. These concepts included the nature of a decent job, notions of reciprocity, and a seeming hierarchy of suitable jobs promoted within the welfareto- work policy. How volunteer activities fit within these constructs was the focus of the investigation. The analysis revealed that the types of paid jobs women obtained were less fulfilling and flexible than their volunteer activities. and gave them less sense of contributing to society, Further, in most cases prior to welfare reform, these single mothers were volunteering in their children's school and as such, both the school's capacity and intergenerational role modelling of volunteering were depleted.
Volunteer coaches play a significant role in the provision of sport and have a great impact on those they coach. Issues such as increasing numbers of athletes, coupled with more stringent legislation affecting safety and child protection, are putting added pressure on coaches. Some of the consequences are burnout and high drop out rates. The purpose of this research is to examine the organisational and the occupational commitment of volunteer coaches in community-based sporting organisations and the implications of such commitment for coaches’ experience of burnout. This research is a work in progress conducted in Townsville, northern Queensland. Volunteer coaches in various sports including hockey, rugby league, basketball, soccer, and surf lifesaving completed a survey instrument which assessed their demographic and background characteristics (including experience, qualifications, and hours dedicated to coaching) organisational and occupational commitment, and burnout. The findings of the analyses conducted to date indicate that affective occupational commitment is a predictor of two aspects of burnout: reduced professional efficacy and exhaustion and cynicism; normative organisational commitment was a moderate predictor of reduced professional efficacy only. These findings suggest that commitment to the coaching role may be an important aspect of volunteer coaches’ sense of self. Future research should focus on further exploring the impact of commitment components on coaches’ burnout to better understand their interrelationships and their implications for coaches’ wellbeing.
In the Australian context, there is a gap in the amount of published research into the psychological contract generally, and particularly in regard to voluntary workers. This paper presents and discusses survey data on the psychological contracts, motivation, values, and job satisfaction of volunteers in a sample of five hospitals in Australia. In doing so, it shows that the sample volunteers perceive their psychological contracts to include economic, socio-emotional and ideology-related contributions. For many of the volunteers, the primary focus for these contributions is not on narrow self-interest or joint volunteer-organisation interests, but rather on broader interests that transcend the organisation's boundaries. The study supports the relevance of the psychological contract for conceptualising and understanding the volunteer-organisation relationship. In particular, it illustrates the potential that the concept of an ideology-related psychological contract offers for better explaining the dynamics of that relationship. The study highlights that perceptions held by the sample volunteers of less than supportive management practices, relating to recognition of volunteer efforts, work design and organisation, have the potential for psychological contract breach and a consequent negative impact on volunteer satisfaction.
Drawing on the results of a mixed methods study conducted in inner Melbourne in 2007, this paper contends that the benefits of volunteering may offset some of the debilitating ill-effects of unemployment and underemployment; and that Work for the Dole, the dominant participation option for the long-term unemployed, is less effective in this regard. On this basis, it argues that volunteering is underutilised in the Government's economic and social participation framework in spite of implementation challenges and reasonable and substantive philosophical and practical concerns within the voluntary sector.
This paper examines the geography of civic voluntary participation in northern Adelaide, South Australia. Voluntary participation refers to the spectrum of activities encompassing formal volunteering with an organisation, participation in clubs and societies and informal neighbourhood activities. We review the literature on the geography of voluntary participation and address data from the 2005 Northern Adelaide Social Inclusion Survey of two thousand respondents conducted by the SA Department of Health. Our study examines how variables such as age, gender, socio-economic status and location relate to the forms of voluntary participation evident at the local area level. We examine differences in the way respondents participate in voluntary and civic activities according to where they live and by demographic variables and offer an explanatory framework for understanding the geography of voluntary participation.
The value of formal volunteering has received attention from researchers seeking to measure volunteer contributions economically and more recently the social capital discourse has brought attention to the community and social benefits of volunteering. Few studies have examined the volunteers' perceptions of the value that their activities generate for the organisation they support; for other potential beneficiaries (including clients); and for the wider community. This paper uses data from 37 interviews with volunteers recruited from seven different organisations to examine the value of volunteering from the volunteers' perspective. The interviews examine the financial and time costs associated with volunteering and the personal, organisational, client and community benefits generated by the volunteer activity. Respondents primarily reported that their activities generated personal and organisational benefits, with some benefits to clients but only tangential community contributions. A number of financial and time costs associated with volunteering were also identified. Overall, the main beneficiary of the volunteering was the volunteer.
Many organisations across the sector are increasingly finding that the ageing population also means an increase in the number of older volunteers in their organisations. This paper will present the findings of a recently completed doctoral study which investigated what happens when the manager of volunteers believes that a volunteer's performance is declining and that this decline may be associated with ageing. The mixed method approach employed sensemaking as a diagnostic tool, and the findings bring to light the perspectives of both the manager and the volunteers. Key elements of the findings include the different responses of managers and volunteers to the same evidence of changing capabilities and the desire of volunteers to be involved in decisions about what action should be taken. The managers' decisions about action draw on their experience, knowledge, skills, and the organisational support which they have available. The context in which this takes place includes their confidence in their own abilities, the status of volunteering and the social construction of age. This paper suggests that some of these areas need to be addressed in offering managers further support in their work.
Grassroots groups – autonomous, not-for-profit groups made up of volunteers – and grassroots initiatives play an invaluable, yet often invisible, role in our communities. The informal processes and collective efforts of grassroots associations, social movements, self-help groups and local action collectives are central to civil society and community building. Grassroots leaders are critical to such initiatives, yet little is known about their influences, motivations, successes and challenges. This study aims to address this dearth in the research literature by noting the experiences of a sample of grassroots community leaders to help gain a greater knowledge about community leadership in action. In-depth semi-structured interviews were held with nine grassroots leaders from a broad cross-section of sectors of interest. The criteria for selection were that these leaders were not in a formal non-profit organisation, were not paid for their work yet were leading grassroots groups or initiatives involved in active community building, campaigning or self-help. The paper reflects on findings in regard to the formative experiences that impacted upon the community leaders’ direction in life, their beliefs and ideas about what it means to be a leader, the strategies they use to lead and challenges they continue to face, and the role of learning and support in maintaining and developing their roles. Finally, the key themes relating to grassroots leadership and how these leaders enhance their own effectiveness and resilience are explored.
The aim of this research is to gain a greater understanding of the motivations and satisfaction levels of volunteers in a community-based walking program from the volunteer’s perspective. This research focused on the motivations of volunteer walk organisers involved in two structured walking programs ‘Just Walk It’ (funded by the Queensland Government), and ‘Gonewalking’ (funded by the Brisbane City Council). Both programs are delivered by the Heart Foundation and the research was conducted with groups in Brisbane, Queensland. A series of questions was developed to ascertain the demographic characteristics, the main motivations to volunteer, and the levels of satisfaction of volunteers who participated in this program as walk organisers. Several recommendations were made regarding motivation and satisfaction levels in order to improve retention rates of volunteer walk organisers.
This literature review presents an overview of the research to date on occupational stress and satisfaction in volunteer workers. First, the paper reviews several different models of occupational stress (Person-Environment Fit, Job Demand-Control, Effort-Reward Imbalance and the Job Demands-Resources model) and provides an explanation in favour of the Job Demands-Resources model as a theoretically comprehensive model in understanding volunteer wellbeing. Second, a critical examination is conducted of current research studies supporting the JD-R model, particularly in volunteer populations. Third, empirical evidence is summarised for the support of the negative and positive pathways of the JD-R model in volunteers. Finally, the psychological concepts of engagement and connectedness as mediators in the positive pathway are differentiated. It is concluded that the JD-R model provides a comprehensive and potentially useful theoretical framework for understanding volunteer wellbeing. With regards to the positive pathway, the emerging concept of connectedness is introduced as a possibly better mediating variable between job resources and positive work outcomes than engagement. The inclusion of connectedness to the model would be expected to increase the flexibility of the JD-R model by improving the predictability of positive outcomes such as good health, satisfaction and determination to continue in volunteer work.
Margaret Bell, the Founding President/CEO of Volunteering Australia Delivered the inaugural Margaret Bell Spirit of Volunteering address at the 12th National Conference on Volunteering at Gold Coast, Queensland from 3-5 September, 2008. As part of our modern value system our society is now harbouring fear about issues such as border safety, health, climate change, social inclusion, ethnicity, and a downturn in the economy. We seek to know who will really provide forums to build coalitions of humanity wherein we can ensure legitimacy for the long-term response to all of this. Will it be government or big business that will decide? With short-term agendas of their own neither of these institutions are seen to work very much beyond their own survival. It is, therefore, only the citizens of Australia, and volunteers in particular, who can take a totally unbiased decision to work wholly for the common good.
The roles of volunteers, like those of employees, may be subject to change. While the importance of assisting paid workers to manage change is well recognised, less attention has been paid to understanding and responding to volunteers' experiences of change. Change, if effectively managed, can be a positive force for building volunteer capacity and sustainability in volunteering organisations. Conversely, poorly managed change can limit the capacity of the organisation to effectively build and involve volunteers. In essence, change in volunteer roles may enhance the volunteer experience or lead to increased tensions within it. In this paper, we will draw on a three-year study on enhancing volunteer capacity in three diverse volunteer-involving organisations. We report on findings from responses from 454 volunteers about their perceptions and expectations of change. We analyse how perceptions and experiences of change vary according to organisational type, type of volunteer activity, and demographic factors, specifically gender, age and country of birth. We found statistically significant relationships among these variables suggesting considerable differential impact of change on various groups within the volunteering population. The study finds that half the volunteers felt their roles and responsibilities had changed since they began volunteering with their organisation. In addition, we found that only a quarter of the volunteers wanted to be involved in these changes. We consider the implications of these findings for improving support to volunteers experiencing change in their roles and responsibilities.
Newly arrived migrants are a significant group in the south-eastern region of Melbourne. The majority congregate in the City of Greater Dandenong, the most disadvantaged municipality in Victoria, with high unemployment rates and low incomes. Many newly arrived migrants are highly skilled in their home countries, yet face great barriers gaining employment. Potential employers seek local experience and look more kindly on Australian qualifications. As a result, men and women lose their self confidence and self worth. Their independence and self reliance suffer as they are not able to provide for their families. This paper looks at how volunteering can provide a gateway to gain inclusion into Australian society by increasing confidence, employment skills and experience while strengthening personal, family and community capacity.
The place of 'social inclusion' on the national agenda represents a major opportunity for the volunteer sector. A strong emphasis on the inclusion of groups and individuals who might otherwise be excluded from participation in all areas of community life has the potential to both boost volunteer numbers and ensure the ongoing strength of many community groups. Social inclusion is not, however, as easy as it appears. While the predominantly static nature of small rural populations and 'country hospitality' would seem to exempt many communities from social tensions, there is clear evidence that some communities are struggling to engage with newcomers to their towns. This paper discusses the question, 'Is social inclusion second nature in the country, or has the privation experienced by rural Australia set communities on a collision course?'
The retention of volunteers has been identified as a significant organisational challenge for community sport organisations. However, little is known about the relationship between volunteer motives and their intentions to remain with an organisation. In this study, 402 volunteers from community rugby clubs were surveyed about their motivations to volunteer and intention to remain as volunteers. The results indicate that while volunteer motivations are primarily based on altruistic values, intentions of volunteers to remain with their club are only moderately affected by these motives.
Volunteers play an important role in the day-to-day operation of organisations within the arts and culture sector in Australia. Their contribution is becoming more significant as organisations within this sector face a range of challenges including economic pressures. In spite of this, little research has been undertaken in the arts and culture sector in Australia to understand why people give their time freely to these organisations. This paper examines the findings of a pilot case study of the National Trust (NSW), the largest non-government conservation organisation in Australia, exploring the hypothesis put forward by Edwards (2005a) that volunteer motivation in the arts and culture sector is predominantly self-driven.
Cary Pedicine, the Chief Executive Officer, Volunteering Australia delivered the opening address at the 12th National Conference on Volunteering at the Gold Coast, Queensland from 3-5 September, 2008. With so many potentially positive forces in play why is it that one in five organisations we surveyed recently reported a decline in volunteer participation? Why is it that the areas of greatest need such as aged care, health, and welfare service cannot attract and retain volunteers to meet their demand? Why are rural communities finding it hard to maintain volunteer support for local sport and recreation and where is the next wave of volunteer workers to support our emergency services?
Volunteers are involved in many areas of development and disaster relief worldwide. Their involvement is pivotal in the implementation and delivery of aid. One of the most notable outcomes of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami lay in the extraordinary number of volunteers who arrived to assist. This paper explores the various roles volunteers took on after the tsunami and the challenges they faced while negotiating processes involved in dealing with the relief effort. These processes continuously shape the experience of volunteers. By examining the roles volunteers play in short-term assistance and long-term development, and acknowledging the growth of volunteer tourism as an industry, this paper raises a number of issues regarding how volunteering is approached.
