The Frustration Factor: Volunteer Perspectives of Frustration in a Sport Setting

Abstract

Volunteers are an integral part of the labor pool in the sports industry and organizations benefit from the extensive contributions that volunteer workers make to the daily operations of organizations and the overall management of events. Sport organizations have tended to utilize mainstream human resource management practices that focus on paid workers ignoring the differences in motivation and satisfaction factors that differentiate the sports volunteer worker along with the sports industry. This study explores the lived experience of long-term sport volunteers with regard to training and work preparedness, recognition and status, wellbeing, and belonging. The study employs an ethnographic research strategy in an authentic environment that would allow the researchers to untangle and understand the multiple realities that construct the volunteer experience. A holistic view of the dynamic interdependencies of all components of the volunteer community emerges yielding a new typology, the Frustration Factor.Résumé Les bénévoles font partie intégrante du réservoir de la force de travail dans le secteur du sport et les organisations bénéficient d'importantes contributions faites par les travailleurs bénévoles pour les opérations quotidiennes des organisations et la gestion générale des évènements. Les organisations sportives ont tendance à utiliser des pratiques de gestion des ressources humaines ordinaires qui privilégient les travailleurs rémunérés, en ignorant les différences des facteurs de motivation et de satisfaction qui différencient les travailleurs bénévoles du secteur sportif avec le secteur sportif. Cette étude explore l'expérience vécue de volontaires sportifs de longue durée en ce qui concerne la formation et la préparation au travail, la reconnaissance et le statut, le bien-être et le sentiment d'appartenance. L'étude utilise une stratégie de recherche ethnographique dans un environnement authentique qui permettrait aux chercheurs d'éclaircir et de comprendre les multiples réalités qui construisent l'expérience des volontaires. Une vision holistique des interdépendances dynamiques de toutes les composantes de la communauté des bénévoles se dégage pour donner une nouvelle typologie, le facteur de frustration.Zusammenfassung Ehrenamtliche Mitarbeiter sind ein wesentlicher Bestandteil des Arbeitskräftebestands in der Sportindustrie, und Organisationen profitieren von den beträchtlichen Beiträgen, die die ehrenamtlichen Mitarbeiter für den täglichen Betrieb der Organisationen und das insgesamte Management von Veranstaltungen leisten. Sportorganisationen tendieren dazu, etablierte Personalmanagementpraktiken anzuwenden, die sich auf bezahlte Mitarbeiter konzentrieren, und lassen dabei die Unterschiede bei der Motivation und Zufriedenheit außer Acht, die die Ehrenamtlichen im Sportbereich und auch die Sportindustrie differenzieren. Diese Studie erforscht die Erfahrungen langfristiger ehrenamtlicher Mitarbeiter in der Sportindustrie hinsichtlich Schulung und Vorbereitung auf die Arbeit, Anerkennung und Status...

Enhancing volunteers capacity in all‐volunteer nonprofit organizations: The role of volunteer leaders' reliance on effective management processes and (de)motivating leadership

“…Results regarding the demotivating leadership styles were inconsistent with our hypothesis and previous research (see Sheptak & Menaker, 2016), since they revealed that a demotivating leadership style was unrelated to volunteer capacity. However, bivariate results indicated that, while a controlling leadership style did not relate to volunteers capacity, a chaotic leadership style correlated negatively with volunteers capacity.…”

“…In addition, we relied on bivariate correlations to investigate how each component of a motivating leadership style (i.e., autonomy support and structure), and a demotivating leadership style (i.e., control and chaos) related to volunteers capacity. Based on SDT studies indicating that need satisfaction related positively to volunteer outcomes (Haivas et al, 2013; Oostlander et al, 2014), whereas the opposite is true for need frustration (Sheptak & Menaker, 2016), we expected that a motivating (or need‐supportive) leadership style and a demotivating (or need‐thwarting) leadership style would be, respectively, positively (hypothesis 2a) and negatively (hypothesis 2b) associated with volunteers capacity.…”

“…Previous studies in a volunteering context have shown that the satisfaction of these basic psychological needs relates to volunteers' work satisfaction (Oostlander, Güntert, & Wehner, 2014) and work engagement (Haivas, Hofmans, & Pepermans, 2013). In contrast, frustration of the need for autonomy (feeling pressured), competence (doubting own capabilities to perform well), and relatedness (getting the idea that important others dislike you), was negatively related to volunteers' engagement (Sheptak & Menaker, 2016).…”

Learning Strategies Focused on Decision Making and Collaboration on Physical Education

“…The emotional states that come with gymnastics learning must be considered since they are decisive for the technical acquisition and the cognitive stage of the learning process, especially in the first phases of gymnastics learning [43]. Several studies on frustration and dissatisfaction [44,45] have shown that the causes of dissatisfaction may lie in the lack of communication, lack of organization in the task, and lack of integration in the team, in addition to the initial lack of motivation as a result of the difficulties. In our analysis, we sought the above-mentioned elements.…”

“The Right Tools at the Right Time”: Improving Volunteer Education and Support

“…In addition to education, effective program administration is a foundational need for volunteer success (Bortree, 2011;Hager & Brudney, 2004). Frustration or confusion with program administration can lead to low morale and a perceived lack of supportive relationships with program professionals (Accountemps, 2013;Sheptak & Menaker, 2016).…”