More Than a ‘Little Act of Kindness’? Towards a Typology of Volunteering as Unpaid Work

Abstract

Definitions of volunteering are widespread and complex, yet relatively little attention is given to volunteering as unpaid work, even though it intersects with the worlds of paid employment and the domestic sphere, cutting across individual/collective and public/private spaces. This article advances a typology of volunteering work (altruistic, instrumental, militant and forced volunteering/'voluntolding') that illuminates the complexity and dynamism of volunteering. Using qualitative data from a study of 30 volunteers to explore practices of volunteering as they unfold in daily life, the typology provides much-needed conceptual building blocks for a theory of 'volunteering as unpaid work'. This perspective helps transcend the binaries prevalent in the sociology of work and provides a lens to rethink what counts as work in contemporary society. It also invites further research about the effects of 'voluntolding' on individuals and society, and on the complex relationship between volunteering work and outcomes at a personal and collective level.

Young people, family relationships and civic participation

“…However, this oversimplification masks the unequal access to, and ability to participate in civil society. It also assumes that all civic participation is altruistic, when in fact the motivations for involvement are many and varied (including self-interest and instrumentalism), can overlap and often change over time (Kelemen, Mangan, & Moffat, 2017;Nightingale, 1973). Moreover, certain types of participation in civil society may reinforce rather than undermine existing patterns of unfair advantage and social reproduction (Dean, 2016).…”

“Charity Begins at Home”: Informal Caring Barriers to Formal Volunteering Among Older People

“…Most prior research investigating decision-making relating to volunteering has either involved population samples that include both volunteers and non-volunteers to identify any differences between the groups (Bulanda and Jendrek, 2016;Dury et al, 2016;Gil-Lacruz et al, 2017;Gray et al, 2012;Hank and Stuck, 2008;Lee and Brudney, 2009;Mitani, 2013;Plagnol and Huppert, 2009;Taniguchi, 2011;van der Horst et al, 2016;Wang et al, 2016;Warburton and Stirling, 2007;Yeung, 2016) or only included current volunteers (Hong and Morrow-Howell, 2013;Kelemen et al, 2017;Larkin, Sadler, and Mahler, 2005;. The present study adopted an alternative approach by intentionally sampling those who do not engage in formal volunteering to identify factors contributing to their lack of participation.…”

“…The classification of barriers to formal volunteering into social, psychological, and temporal categories and the identification of relevant theoretical constructs for each category provides insights into the ways policies and programs can be developed or modified to better cater to the volunteering situations of older people. In the first instance, the clear importance of the needs of in-groups in determining whether the older person has the capacity to engage in formal volunteering highlights the substantial contributions seniors can make within their social networkscontributions that have value in their own right (Kelemen et al, 2017;Martinez et al, 2011). Childcare and eldercare were the most commonly reported informal roles reported by the study participants; these activities assist society as a whole by facilitating parents' return to work and enabling elderly relatives to age in place rather than being institutionalized.…”

“…Evident in many prior studies is an apparent assumption that formal volunteering constitutes the 'gold standard' of seniors' contributions to society, and that participation in this 'higher level' contribution may be positively or negatively affected by other activities. There is some recognition, however, that contributions in the form of informal volunteering and caring have value and are important to facilitate the functioning of family units, which in turn have productive value for the economy as a whole (Kelemen, Mangan, and Moffat, 2017;Martinez et al, 2011). For example, looking after the dying in their own homes is a key attribute of "compassionate communities" (Horsfall et al, 2012), and can provide both patient and carer with a sense of social integration and belonging (Horsfall et al, 2017).…”

Struggling with Meaningfulness when Context Shifts: Volunteer Work in a German Refugee Shelter

“…Although literature on meaningfulness in volunteer work is limited (for an exception see Rodell, ; Yim and Fock, ), the implicit assumption that volunteer work is inherently meaningful is widely shared in the literature, but also among volunteers (Flores, ; Kuhn et al, ; McAllum, ; Rodell, ). Assumedly decoupled from the market logic, volunteer work is seen to celebrate the ideals of work autonomy, free choice, community, and social impact (Cnaan et al, ; Kelemen et al, ). Moreover, volunteer work constitutes an important site for identity work (Alfes et al, ; Cunningham, ; Grönlund, ), as it allows individuals to pursue altruistic values and political positions (Chen et al, ; Clary et al, ; Wilson, ).…”