More than three quarters (77 percent) of employers offer paid volunteering time to staff as a perk, but close to two fifths (38 percent) of employees never use it, and less than 10 percent engage regularly with the benefit.
This limited engagement with volunteering benefits was revealed in a survey with 471 employees at companies of different sizes and across various industries by the corporate volunteering platform OnHand.
The finding shows a clear divide between company policies and employee participation in workplace volunteering, the platform said.
Around one in six (16.5 percent) employees said they were not clear how much volunteering time their workplace offered, while 72 percent said they don’t think employees who volunteer are more valued at work. In fact, the platform said that this misses how positive it can be for personal and career growth, motivation and productivity.
However, six in ten employees said they don’t notice or aren’t sure whether volunteering increases their productivity and morale, largely because they aren’t volunteering. This lack of clear communication about what is available and what the benefits can be means take-up is far lower than expected, according to OnHand.
Volunteering frequency (how often organisations allow their employees to volunteer) remains low despite workplace support.
Only 3.8 percent of organisations offer six or more volunteering days a year. Most employers offer just one day, with two and three days being the next most common offer. However, 72 percent of employees reported that their workplace has a supportive culture regarding volunteering, which suggests there’s a gap between attitude and action, the provider said.
Sanjay Lobo, founder and CEO of OnHand, said: “Unfortunately, employees aren’t seeing the benefits of volunteering yet, including that it can boost productivity and morale.
“Those who do volunteer report tangible benefits. Almost 40 percent of respondents say that volunteering has positively impacted their productivity in the workplace, as well as their motivation, mindfulness, team relationships, morale, skills and attitude.”
Employers may also be too slow to highlight staff volunteering programmes as employees who had been with an employer for 6 to 12 months showed the lowest take up. OnHand said this means organisations might be missing a key opportunity to engage newer hires, especially younger employees, who increasingly value purpose-driven work.
Lobo said: “The issue of employees not engaging with availability opportunities lies in a combination of factors such as lack of clarity about policies, insufficient flexibility and limited cultural reinforcement. Your employees don’t have the right information about volunteering at work, so they aren’t getting involved. While the desire and resources to provide volunteering opportunities are there, encouraging your employees to make an impact requires a finer-tuned approach than just introducing a volunteering policy and expecting them to manage it themselves.
“As leaders, you need to celebrate employees who volunteer as this motivates and inspires others. Introducing flexible opportunities for your employees to do good when, where and how they want is important. And leading by example is key as well as ensuring a volunteering policy is clear. By prioritising these four checkpoints, you’ll boost your workplace volunteering scheme and close any disconnect between policy and practice.”
The research results have been published in a report from the platform, which is titled ‘From Policy to Practice: Bridging the Workplace Volunteering Disconnect’.
