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HRPYC81Research Report for PROJECT 4809
Assignment Number 42
Title: What motivates people to do volunteer work? A qualitative study of motivation behind
volunteerism.
DU PREEZ L
Student Number: 36019879
Examination Period October/November 2020
,Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………4
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..5
Defining Motivation and Volunteerism……………………………………………………5
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………….5
Methodology……………………………………………………………………………….9
Research Rationale…………………………………………………………………………9
Importance and Aims………………………………………………………………………9
Research Design……………………………………………………………………………10
Study Sample - Participants………………………………………………………………..10
Interviews…………………………………………………………………………………..11
Data Collection……………………………………………………………………………..12
Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………………….12
Ethical Practices…………………………………………………………………………….15
Quality of the Study…………………………………………………………………………16
Trustworthiness: Reliability and Validity…………………………………………………..16
Results………………………………………………………………………………………18
Discussing of Findings linked to themes……………………………………………………18
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..24
Significance of the Study……………………………………………………………………24
Limitations of the Study……………………………………………………………………..25
Plagiarism Declaration………………………………………………………………………25
List of References……………………………………………………………………………26
APPENDIX 1………………………………………………………………………………..28
APPENDIX 2………………………………………………………………………………..30
APPENDIX 3………………………………………………………………………………..32
,What motivates people to do volunteer work? A qualitative study of the motivation be-
hind volunteerism.
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine why people are prepared to devote their time and per-
sonal resources without expecting compensation. The aim of the study was to understand
why people volunteer and to build a basic profile of volunteers which can be further extended
by future studies. Three study subjects who volunteer at a crime control unit in Cape Town
was interviewed and asked questions in order to gain an understanding of why they do volun-
teer work, why specifically such a dangerous nature of volunteer work and what makes them
stay with the institution that they volunteer at. The hypothesis was that they do it because
they have personal reasons for wanting to make a difference, help others in need, build or en-
hance self-esteem and experience personal growth and self-actualisation as well as relational
motivations. Altruism also yielded strongly in the study. The three subjects were chosen us-
ing a combination of Snowball sampling and Key informant sampling, both because of limi-
tations in availability and expertise. These are the only three volunteers at this specific unit
and therefore it was not based on gender, age, marital status or career choice. Access was
gained by requesting permission from their direct line commander to approach them. From
the interviews held with this study, the research question was confirmed. The study subjects
had very personal and specific reasons for doing volunteer work and each one has a different
experience, but very similar reasons for remaining volunteers at this crime control unit. All
the study subjects revealed that they gained invaluable knowledge, personal growth, insight
and satisfaction out of the work they do and that they will keep doing this work as long as
possible and as long as they see the results they deliver and the difference they make in the
community.
Key words: Motivation, Altruism, Self-Actualisation, Relational, Community, Thematic
Analysis, Volunteer, Satisfaction, Difference, Snowball Sampling, Key Informant Sampling,
, Introduction
The social services and crime control sector in South Africa is under great pressure and a lack
of available funds creates a dire need for assistance. Many organisations rely on the as-
sistance of volunteers.
In order to assist organisations to recruit volunteers, it is necessary to gain understanding why
people volunteer. If we understand what motivates volunteers, organisations might be able to
use the information to make volunteering more attractive to potential volunteers and as such
increase numbers and eventually improve efficiency and activity in their sectors.
Defining Motivation and Volunteerism
When defining Motivation one can say that motivation is the reason for carrying out a certain
action.
Volunteerism may be defined as donating one’s time and personal resources to a cause with-
out receiving or expecting compensation.
Literature Review
Making a difference
In most cases the motivation behind volunteerism seems to be based on the notion of making
a difference. This is a theme that is frequently repeated when it comes to volunteering where
there is a dire need for volunteers. Both society and individual volunteers benefits from vol-
unteering. According to crime activists the shortage of reservists is relevant to the high crime
rate in crime hot spots in cities (Maliti, 2017). In order to identify certain motivations in vol-
unteers, an interesting view is that of intention. When we apply the Theory of Planned Be-
haviour proposed by Icek Ajzen (1985) we can reason that behavioural intention plays a role
in motivation behind volunteerism and a few researchers have discovered that identity have
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