Introduction

Volunteerism and volunteer work represent important ways in which individuals can contribute
to society at large (Clary, Synder, Copeland, & French, 1994). Many different kinds of people
with many different motivations engage in volunteer work. Consequently, questions of why
individual spend their time volunteering, what volunteers like and dislike about volunteer
programs, how volunteer motivations and preferences change, and why volunteers drop have
made program managers and volunteer coordinators strive to answer for some time.

Volunteerism is the lifeblood of the organization especially the nonprofit sector. Volunteers do
all the work, from planting the trees to paying the bills. Even if the organization employs paid
staff, volunteers still provide valuable service. Organizations depend on volunteers to staff
telephone hotlines, provide tutoring and coaching, serve hot meals, organize fundraising events,
and stuff envelopes. So, the management of the organization needs to know how to work with
volunteers.

Some volunteer work is similar to paid work in that it involves performing defined tasks for specified
time periods within the context of a formal organization (e.g., an individual volunteering to staff the gift
shop in a hospital for two mornings a week). This type of activity is typically referred to as formal
volunteering. A broader definition of volunteering also includes work that is done to assist friends,
neighbors, and family members outside the household. Such informal volunteering differs in structure and
organization from formal volunteering, but it may be quite similar in content (Wilson, 1997) .

Volunteers vs Paid Workers

Generally, volunteer workers are driven by forces such as the desire to help or to contribute
something meaningful to society. They are willing to devote hours to an institution, organization,
or individual with minimal material reward. Most volunteers admit that they serve their
community out of this personal desire, but what is not clear is why, other than a possible lack of
employment opportunities in a given area, these women and men decide to commit themselves to
a venture that has little benefit for them in a capitalist society.

On the other hand, paid workers certainly comprise the majority of the population and their role in the
social and economic system of commerce and service is quite clear. Defining paid work is simple because
it is the dominant force behind of our lives as well as our economy. Paid workers enter into a binding
contract with their employer to perform specified duties for payment. Paid workers are present in nearly
every imaginable sector and while the amount of income, level of job satisfaction, and other issues may
vary, these are men and women working to produce personal capital and perhaps maintain a benefit
(retirement, health, dental) package as well.

While defining these paid workers is simple, volunteer work is a more elusive concept and requires a
more strict definition. Volunteer work is “unpaid work provided to parties to whom the worker owes no
contractual, familial, or friendship obligations” (Wilson, 1997). In many senses, volunteers do much the
same work that their paid counterparts perform, the only difference being the obvious lack of income.

Why people volunteer

Motivations to volunteer include anticipated benefits of the activity for other individuals and groups as
well as perceived benefits for the individual engaged in the activity. Wilson J. (2000) suggests that pro-
volunteer attitudes or dispositions may be related to early life experiences, including participation in
volunteer activities as a youth and having parents who promoted volunteerism and helping others. The
importance of experiences earlier in life, reporting higher than average rates of volunteering among those
who had previously volunteered and those who had seen someone they admired volunteering. As an
activity directed toward individuals with whom one has personal contact (such as family, friends, or
neighbors), informal volunteering is considered to be motivated in part by affection or commitment to
those individuals.