Engaged or Connected? A Perspective of the Motivational Pathway of the Job Demands-Resources Model in Volunteers Working for Nonprofit Organizations

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

“…Only two studies have examined this proposition in relation to volunteers. Huynh et al (2012) found that social support, performance feedback, and training were positively associated with volunteer engagement. Gagné (2003) found a moderate association between environments that provide volunteers with an opportunity to be autonomous, and engagement.…”

“…A handful of studies have lent preliminary support to the notion that high levels of volunteer engagement yield similar beneficial outcomes to those observed in the private sector, such as time spent volunteering (Gagné, 2003;Shantz et al, 2014), satisfaction, commitment, and intent to remain (Vecina, Chacón, Sueiro, & Barrón, 2012), although one study, by Huynh et al (2012), yielded mixed results. Even fewer studies have examined the potential outcomes of engagement in a psychological sense for volunteers themselves, although some research has focused on the positive outcomes associated with other attitudinal variables on the part of volunteers.…”

“…Moreover, this theory asserts that supportive organizational contexts yield high levels of engagement, which in turn, leads to positive outcomes since individuals work within settings where they feel safe to express their true self and connect with others. For example, Huynh et al (2012) showed that job resources, such as a socially supportive work context led to higher levels of engagement amongst volunteers and Farmer and Fedor (1999) demonstrated that the extent to which volunteers believe that they receive support from their voluntary organization influences their attitudes and behaviors.…”

“…The present paper takes a more focused perspective by exploring organizational factors that can be implemented by voluntary organizations to encourage individuals to volunteer in their free time outside formal work commitments. Specifically, we examine factors that are within a voluntary organization's control that can positively enhance volunteer outcomes in particular (Gagné, 2003;Huynh et al, 2012;Studer & Schnurbein, 2013). In this, we respond to the call for research focusing on organizational factors that are associated with volunteer outcomes (Boezeman & Ellemers, 2007;Craig-Lees, Harris, & Lau, 2008).…”

“…Specifically, we suggest that organizational factors induce a motivational process (Huynh et al, 2012;Lo Presti, 2013) for volunteers such that they become more engaged when those factors are present, which results in positive outcomes for their health and reduces their intent to leave the voluntary organization. We base our argumentation on the Job DemandsResources (JD-R) model, a framework that has been used frequently in the paid employment sector.…”