The motivation of volunteer workers in a religion based non-profit organisation

Abstract

Motivation has been a deep-seated issue in psychology and especially in the field of volunteer work. The motivation to volunteer for non-profit organisations is a true phenomenon as the volunteers receive no tangible benefit for their services. The main purpose of the study was to investigate and understand the motives of volunteer workers in a religious non-profit organisation because there are very few volunteers that are only motivated by one motive. The participants’ experiences and motives to participate voluntarily were discussed and described by the participants. In addition the perceived economical impact of volunteerism was investigated to create a framework for organisations to attract and retain volunteers. In this qualitative research design the research methodology applied is a phenomenological approach. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted that were based on motives to volunteer identified in previous studies on volunteerism. Results clearly indicate that more than one motive is present and majority of the participants were motivated by different motives at different times. In addition it is transparent that volunteers are attracted to volunteer for various reasons. In conclusion the benefits of volunteerism identified by the participants of this study serves as proof that volunteering does not only motivate volunteers to continue volunteering but also creates better people, relationships, communities and ultimately better countries.