Is the UK becoming a nation of volunteers?
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantVolunteering is nothing of a new concept, for years people
have been giving up their spare time to help other people and causes in need. But,
over the past year, we’ve noticed a significant rise in people searching for
local volunteering opportunities — could we becoming more inclined to work for
free?
A growing
trend
According to NCVO’s
January 2019 survey of over 10,000 respondents, almost four in 10 Britons
currently volunteer, and seven in 10 say that they’ve volunteered at some point
in their life.
When we compare ourselves to our European counterparts, it
seems like we’re performing rather well. In Italy, only 9% of the total
population say that they’ve volunteered and 51% of Dutch 15-24-year olds engage
in societal activities as a volunteer at least once a year.
NfpSynergy’s
2017 report which gathered statistics on thousands of people from 2004,
analysed volunteering figures. They discovered that the proportion of
16-24-year olds who volunteer has risen significantly over the past 13 years,
up from 15% to 29%. A comparable percentage change was seen in 25-34-year olds
over the same period.
It can depend on which societal bracket people are from too,
with those from higher socio-economic groups (ABC1) more likely to have
volunteered recently than those from lower groups (C2DE).
While England, Scotland and Wales have seen similar
increases in search volume, Northern Ireland has experienced more than a
three-fold increase in searches for the term. This could be down to the
substantial push from male suicide campaigns to raise awareness and encourage
fundraising, following the announcement that the country has the highest
suicide rate in the UK. There is also a high level of competition for
skilled positions in the country and volunteering is one way for people to
differentiate themselves from the rest.
Why are we
wanting to volunteer more?
Aside from charities making public pleas for more
volunteers, what is encouraging us to give up our free time for a selfless
cause?
Volunteering has now been acknowledged as part of the wider
health policy, with the NHS five-year plan highlighting the need for community
volunteering. This is down to the mental and physical health benefits that can
be reaped from volunteering.
NCVO discovered that the majority of people stated
volunteering benefits their mental health and can even act as an antidote to
loneliness. 77% of those surveyed revealed that volunteering had improved their
mental health and 53% claimed their physical health had benefitted from the
activity.
90% of participants felt that they made a difference through
volunteer work and 89% claimed it led to them meeting new people, both of which
may also be reasons in higher volunteering figures.
While many people are deciding to volunteer themselves,
there is also a push from schools, universities and employers. NfpSynergy’s
findings also revealed that volunteering rates peaked at 33% among 16-24-year
olds in 2013/14 but in 2017 this peak was also discovered in 24 to 34-year
olds. This suggests that people who began volunteering at school and university
are continuing to do so as they get older. It could be that people do need an
extra push to start giving back but when they do, they realise the benefits.
10% of volunteers give their time via employer-supported
volunteering. As company’s push to better their workforce and company,
volunteering has been realised as a great way to improve mental health and get
the brand involved in local causes. For example, men’s knitwear retailer
CT Shirts allows their employees one day volunteering per year to encourage
them to get involved with the local community. Similarly, Accenture, a large consulting firm,
provide their staff with three corporate volunteering days to help a charity.
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Created on Aug 6th 2019 03:19. Viewed 325 times.