Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract 254 views
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers
Leanne Greening 
Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data
Swansea University Author:
Leanne Greening
Abstract
Within the current context of a politically driven pursuit for welfare pluralism, increased voluntary sector service provision characterises the current climate (Broadbridge and Parsons 2003). The consequent expectations placed upon voluntary organisations to become effective and efficient ‘alternat...
| Published in: | Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data |
|---|---|
| Published: |
WISERD
|
| Online Access: |
https://wiserd.ac.uk/research/ |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68761 |
| first_indexed |
2025-01-30T11:15:24Z |
|---|---|
| last_indexed |
2025-07-09T05:00:14Z |
| id |
cronfa68761 |
| recordtype |
SURis |
| fullrecord |
<?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2025-07-08T11:49:18.6520839</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>68761</id><entry>2025-01-30</entry><title>The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>f464397c7ade3fc61192336aa8c1d7ca</sid><ORCID>0009-0008-7465-7714</ORCID><firstname>Leanne</firstname><surname>Greening</surname><name>Leanne Greening</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-01-30</date><deptcode>CBAE</deptcode><abstract>Within the current context of a politically driven pursuit for welfare pluralism, increased voluntary sector service provision characterises the current climate (Broadbridge and Parsons 2003). The consequent expectations placed upon voluntary organisations to become effective and efficient ‘alternative providers’ of services to the state squeeze these organisations of their resources and push them to the limits of their capabilities. These conditions cultivate a tough and demanding operating environment and underscore the challenges that voluntary organisations face in their management of, and adaptation to, change (Bode and Brandsen, 2014). This paper adopts a process-oriented approach that seeks to deepen our understanding of how people volunteer, that is, the nature and process of their involvement. Reflecting on 40 semi-structured interviews with volunteers, this paper begins to unpick the complexity that surrounds volunteer commitment and retention and sheds light on what this means in a voluntary context where ‘workers’ are not bound to the organisation by the usual ties of employment (Kim et al. 2009). This paper prioritised volunteer narratives and focussed on how volunteers conceptualised theirvoluntary practice and (re)negotiated their volunteer roles and identities during times of change anduncertainty. Furthermore, it gave insight into sustained volunteer commitment and moved the theory beyond a simple explanation of the phenomenon’s occurrence or non-occurrence. In adopting an intra-organisational approach, the research indicates that an ‘exchange’ takes place between thevolunteer and the organisation and in return for unpaid, emotional labour, volunteers gain a strong sense of meaning and identity through their voluntary pursuits.</abstract><type>Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract</type><journal>Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data</journal><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher>WISERD</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords/><publishedDay>0</publishedDay><publishedMonth>0</publishedMonth><publishedYear>0</publishedYear><publishedDate>0001-01-01</publishedDate><doi/><url>https://wiserd.ac.uk/research/</url><notes>Theme: Civil Society and participationLocation: Aberystwyth University,</notes><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Management School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>CBAE</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-07-08T11:49:18.6520839</lastEdited><Created>2025-01-30T11:14:17.1665542</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Management - Business Management</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Leanne</firstname><surname>Greening</surname><orcid>0009-0008-7465-7714</orcid><order>1</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807> |
| spelling |
2025-07-08T11:49:18.6520839 v2 68761 2025-01-30 The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers f464397c7ade3fc61192336aa8c1d7ca 0009-0008-7465-7714 Leanne Greening Leanne Greening true false 2025-01-30 CBAE Within the current context of a politically driven pursuit for welfare pluralism, increased voluntary sector service provision characterises the current climate (Broadbridge and Parsons 2003). The consequent expectations placed upon voluntary organisations to become effective and efficient ‘alternative providers’ of services to the state squeeze these organisations of their resources and push them to the limits of their capabilities. These conditions cultivate a tough and demanding operating environment and underscore the challenges that voluntary organisations face in their management of, and adaptation to, change (Bode and Brandsen, 2014). This paper adopts a process-oriented approach that seeks to deepen our understanding of how people volunteer, that is, the nature and process of their involvement. Reflecting on 40 semi-structured interviews with volunteers, this paper begins to unpick the complexity that surrounds volunteer commitment and retention and sheds light on what this means in a voluntary context where ‘workers’ are not bound to the organisation by the usual ties of employment (Kim et al. 2009). This paper prioritised volunteer narratives and focussed on how volunteers conceptualised theirvoluntary practice and (re)negotiated their volunteer roles and identities during times of change anduncertainty. Furthermore, it gave insight into sustained volunteer commitment and moved the theory beyond a simple explanation of the phenomenon’s occurrence or non-occurrence. In adopting an intra-organisational approach, the research indicates that an ‘exchange’ takes place between thevolunteer and the organisation and in return for unpaid, emotional labour, volunteers gain a strong sense of meaning and identity through their voluntary pursuits. Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data WISERD 0 0 0 0001-01-01 https://wiserd.ac.uk/research/ Theme: Civil Society and participationLocation: Aberystwyth University, COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University 2025-07-08T11:49:18.6520839 2025-01-30T11:14:17.1665542 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management Leanne Greening 0009-0008-7465-7714 1 |
| title |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| spellingShingle |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers Leanne Greening |
| title_short |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| title_full |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| title_fullStr |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| title_sort |
The changing experiences of work among unpaid volunteers |
| author_id_str_mv |
f464397c7ade3fc61192336aa8c1d7ca |
| author_id_fullname_str_mv |
f464397c7ade3fc61192336aa8c1d7ca_***_Leanne Greening |
| author |
Leanne Greening |
| author2 |
Leanne Greening |
| format |
Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract |
| container_title |
Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data |
| institution |
Swansea University |
| publisher |
WISERD |
| college_str |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| hierarchytype |
|
| hierarchy_top_id |
facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences |
| hierarchy_top_title |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| hierarchy_parent_id |
facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences |
| hierarchy_parent_title |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| department_str |
School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management |
| url |
https://wiserd.ac.uk/research/ |
| document_store_str |
0 |
| active_str |
0 |
| description |
Within the current context of a politically driven pursuit for welfare pluralism, increased voluntary sector service provision characterises the current climate (Broadbridge and Parsons 2003). The consequent expectations placed upon voluntary organisations to become effective and efficient ‘alternative providers’ of services to the state squeeze these organisations of their resources and push them to the limits of their capabilities. These conditions cultivate a tough and demanding operating environment and underscore the challenges that voluntary organisations face in their management of, and adaptation to, change (Bode and Brandsen, 2014). This paper adopts a process-oriented approach that seeks to deepen our understanding of how people volunteer, that is, the nature and process of their involvement. Reflecting on 40 semi-structured interviews with volunteers, this paper begins to unpick the complexity that surrounds volunteer commitment and retention and sheds light on what this means in a voluntary context where ‘workers’ are not bound to the organisation by the usual ties of employment (Kim et al. 2009). This paper prioritised volunteer narratives and focussed on how volunteers conceptualised theirvoluntary practice and (re)negotiated their volunteer roles and identities during times of change anduncertainty. Furthermore, it gave insight into sustained volunteer commitment and moved the theory beyond a simple explanation of the phenomenon’s occurrence or non-occurrence. In adopting an intra-organisational approach, the research indicates that an ‘exchange’ takes place between thevolunteer and the organisation and in return for unpaid, emotional labour, volunteers gain a strong sense of meaning and identity through their voluntary pursuits. |
| published_date |
0001-01-01T05:26:22Z |
| _version_ |
1851097750867804160 |
| score |
11.444473 |