Volunteering is a helping behavior that is defined as participating in charity work without receiving any pay. The reasons as to why people choose to commit their energy and time without receiving any pay vary from one individual to another. Some of these activities may cause harm to such individuals, but this does not deter them from helping others. This paper will, therefore, analyze the factors that motivate individuals in their decision to participate in any volunteer work or community service.
To start with individuals volunteer because volunteering can be self-serving. This means that people will volunteer to meets some personal needs. Those needs vary from business to friendship, belonging and other self-serving needs. One of the businesses related benefits that a person can get from volunteering is networking, which an incredible benefit for those is looking for new opportunities (Musick and Wilson, 2008). Volunteering is also used as a proxy by recruiters for various positions in a company. Individuals who have volunteered are likely to be hired or admitted to open vacancies in organizations than those who have not volunteered. Volunteering is also an educational experience and also beneficial to the youth. Schools nowadays require students to complete some volunteer work or community service hours before they graduate.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Secondly, individuals are motivated by their personal beliefs and values so as to get involved in volunteering activities. This is the strongest level of commitment that a person can have for community service. For such people to volunteer, they need to believe that the cause they are getting involved in is right. Inner motivation comes about even the individual believes in the cause of the action, even if that cause will cost them time, pain and personal sacrifice. This commitment is beyond the altruistic actions of even Mother Teresa. Values play a very important role in motivating individuals to volunteer because without upholding values, and there would be no reason to invest in the wellbeing of the society and the world.
Also, there are those that are motivated by the need for personal growth. This is one of the incentive and reward for volunteering. A person can discover new capabilities and skills, through learning more about themselves and other people, or through overpowering personal challenges. People will often identify with the fact that they are surprised when they discover they know other things (Reich, 2013). This also helps in growing an individual’s confidence and self-esteem with a new skill being learned each time a new challenge is tackled. There are also those individuals who believe that life has more color each time they get exposed to experiences that are new to them.
Finally, there are those who get involved in volunteer activities for friendship, bonding, support and belonging. One advantage of volunteering is that one can meet new people, and this gives a person a feeling of belonging and the inspiration to continue. Those who volunteer also have high stress and would like to have a support system around them to avoid instances where they have flare-ups. Getting support from others is an important incentive that will make an individual get involved in volunteer work.
In summary, people choose to volunteer for various reasons. Whether they are motivated by the need for personal growth, personal beliefs or self-serving, the overall beneficiary is the society. It is, therefore, important for people to help within the community so as to help make the world a better place (Musick and Wilson, 2008). Sometimes a little help can go a long way in saving a soul, and putting a smile on a person’s face. This is always more fulfilling than any other reward or incentive.
References
Musick, M. A., & Wilson, J. (2008). Volunteers: A social profile . Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Reich, S. D. (2013). The power of citizenship: Why John F. Kennedy matters to a new generation .
