Employer‐supported volunteering benefits: Gift exchange among employers, employees, and volunteer organizations

Abstract

Gift exchange theory is utilized to explain the growing trend of employers offering employer-supported volunteering (ESV) benefits. This paper views these benefits through the lens of gift exchange and discusses the creation of exchange relationships between the employer and employee and between the volunteer organization and employee. Hypotheses derived from the perspective of the employee are tested with a nationally representative sample of volunteers (n = 3,658). Findings suggest ESV benefits are positively related to hours volunteered by the employee. Volunteer hours predict employee perceptions of skill acquisition. Perceptions of skill acquisition are positively related to perceptions of job success and employer recognition. We discuss implications for business, employees, and volunteer organizations with an emphasis on human resources management policy and practice.Gift Exchange and ESV 2

Enhancing Volunteer Engagement to Achieve Desirable Outcomes: What Can Non-profit Employers Do?

“…More widely, it has been noted that participating in voluntary work is associated with positive feelings for volunteers (Post, 2005), and Tidwell (2005) showed that volunteers who identify with their voluntary employer's vision and values are more satisfied and committed with their volunteering work. These findings resonate with studies on corporate sponsored volunteering, which demonstrate that volunteer involvement leads to beneficial outcomes for the volunteers, the voluntary organization, and the employer who sponsored the volunteering activities (e.g., Booth et al, 2009;Jones, 2010;Rodell, 2013). For example, Caliguri et al (2013) showed that volunteering assignments which included meaningful projects, social support within the voluntary organization, and opportunities for skill development yielded positive benefits for the employer (i.e.…”

“…Similarly, research on corporate volunteering programs suggests that employees who are supported by their employer dedicate more time to volunteering (e.g., Booth et al, 2009). …”

“…This is not surprising given that voluntary organizations face the conundrum that it is generally much easier for volunteers to quit their volunteer employer than it is for salaried workers to quit theirs, thus creating what has been termed the "important challenge" of retaining a voluntary workforce (Garner & Garner, 2011: 814). Research has also demonstrated that the implementation of certain institutional factors yields positive benefits for volunteers themselves (Tang, Choi, & Morrow-Howell, 2010;Tang, Morrow-Howell, & Hong, 2009), such as the acquisition and development of skills (Booth, Park, & Glomb, 2009) and increased health and wellbeing (e.g., Ayalon, 2008;Pillemer, Fuller-Rowell, Reid, & Wells, 2010). This may not only attract and retain volunteers, but may also have a positive impact on local communities (United Nations Volunteers, 2012).…”

“…Previous research has suggested that organizations can foster volunteering by offering employees the opportunity to participate in volunteering activities (e.g., Booth et al, 2009;Caligiuri, Mencin, & Jiang, 2013;Grant, 2012;Jones, 2010;Rodell, 2013). This is usually done as part of corporate volunteerism programs where employers sponsor release time and regular compensation to enable interested employees to donate their time to a specific cause.…”

Knowledge workers' creativity and the role of the physical work environment

“…After data collection, we performed a statistical single factor test to evaluate whether common method bias was a problem in our dataset. Since there are few techniques to detect common method bias for formative scales (Booth, Park, & Glomb, 2009), we conducted Harman's one-factor test (Scott & Bruce, 1994;Podsakoff & Organ, 1986;Zhou et al, 2008;Patel & Cardon, 2010;Messersmith & Guthrie, 2010), which is commonly used to assess the existence of common method variance at item level.…”