Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It's very likely that you'll want to have volunteers to help with the organization's activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.
Let's begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer position do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.
People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some school have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people's wish of participation from an internal factors (e.g., "I volunteer because it's important to me") to an external factor (e.g., "I volunteer because I’m required to do so"). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.
Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to "training methods that would prepare volunteer for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience".
Another study of 302 volunteers at hospital in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role matter by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am. Consistent with the researchers' expectations, they found a positive correlation(正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice. "Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity ... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity.
假设你成为一个组织的领导者。它是很有可能你会想要帮助组织活动的志愿者。要这样做,它应该有助于理解为什么人们从事志愿者工作和是什么让他们对工作的兴趣。让我们开始与人们为何自愿的问题。研究人员已经确定激励人参与的几个因素。例如,多的志愿者表达无私,扩大其范围的经验,并加强社会关系有关的个人价值观。如果志愿者的位置不能满足这些需要,人可能不想参与。若要选择志愿者,你可能需要了解你想吸引的人的动机。人们也志愿者因为他们需要这样做。提高社区服务水平,有些学校推行强制性的志愿服务项目。不幸的是,这些程序可以从内部因素转移人民愿望的参与 (例如,"我做志愿者因为它对我很重要") 到一个外部因素 (例如,"我做志愿者因为我必须这样做")。当发生这种情况时,人们变得不太可能在将来做志愿者。人们必须敏感到这种可能性,当他们必须使志愿者活动。 Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to "training methods that would prepare volunteer for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience". Another study of 302 volunteers at hospital in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role matter by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am. Consistent with the researchers' expectations, they found a positive correlation(正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice. "Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity ... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity.
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