Study shows happy workers are far more likely to commit time to their community
Employees who are happy in their work are more likely to volunteer than those who are unhappy in their jobs, a new study has found.
The study by Middlesex University London and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) tracked changes in job satisfaction over time for more than 12,000 British employees.
It shows that as job satisfaction increases employees are more likely to volunteer in their free time and to volunteer more often. Likewise, when job satisfaction decreases, employees are more likely to retreat from volunteering.
The researchers measured job satisfaction on a scale of one to seven and found the chance of an employee volunteering increased by 6.5% with every increase of satisfaction on the scale.
The study also finds that commuting time has a detrimental effect on volunteering: those who commute for 50 minutes are 9% less likely to volunteer than those who commute for 20 minutes.
The researchers suggest this could be due to stress and disruption to the pattern of their day. Moreover, as long commuting means less time spent in the community, employees with long journeys to work may become less attached to their local area.
Daniela Lup from Middlesex University London said: “The finding that job satisfaction affects employees’ volunteering should trigger a more serious investigation into the quality of work experiences provided by companies. Unless companies pay closer attention to job quality, their claims of citizenship behavior via volunteering could likely be challenged.”
The research suggests that local volunteering initiatives could be enriched if the realities of work life are considered.
Dr Jonathan Booth from LSE said: “Currently, many local government initiatives are focused on disseminating information about existing volunteering opportunities. But in an area with a high percent of employees with long commuting time more creative, tailored approaches to encourage volunteering are needed”.
