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Module Code: HRPYC81
Research Report for PROJECT 4809
Assignment Number 42
Title of Study: What Motivates People to do Volunteer Work?
Surname: XXXXXXX; Initials: X.X.
Student Number: XXXXXXXX
Examination Period: October/November 2020
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CONTENTS
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….…... 3
Literature Review ………………………………………………………………..................... 4
Volunteer Motivation Models ……………………………..……………..... ………... 4
Additional Theories of Volunteer Motivation ……………………………………….. 7
Research Rationale …………………………………………………………………..………. 8
Aims of the Research …………………………………………………………………..……. 8
Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………....… 9
Research Design …………………………………………………………………...… 9
Participants …………………………………………………………………………. 11
The Interviews …………………………………………………………………….... 13
Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………….… 13
Trustworthiness …………………………………………………………………….. 16
Ethical Considerations …………………………………………………………….... 17
Results: Discussion of Themes …………………………………………………………..… 19
Values …………………………………………………………………………….… 20
Egoism …………………………………………………………………………….... 21
Religiosity ………………………………………………………………………..… 22
Social Responsibility ……………………………………………………………….. 23
Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………….... 24
References ………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
Appendix A ………………………………………………………………………………… 30
Initial Codes From the Data ….…………………………………………………….. 30
Appendix B ……………………………………………………………………………….... 31
Consent Form ……………..…………………………...………………………….... 31
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WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE TO DO VOLUNTEER WORK?
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore what motivates people to engage in volunteer work.
This was a qualitative study located within the interpretivist paradigm. Three South African
volunteers, aged between 25 to 34 years, who are currently involved in volunteering were
selected using the purposive sampling technique. The three volunteers participated in semi-
structured interviews and responded to open-ended questions. The interviews were
transcribed verbatim and then analysed by means of thematic analysis. Four underlying
themes emerged from the data set: values, egoism, religiosity, and social responsibility. The
findings highlighted that altruistic motivations co-occur with self-gaining motivations; and
that religiosity frequently co-occur with social responsibility. Obligation towards others –
which forms the backdrop of Ubuntu principles – were regarded as a strong motivation to
volunteer by the participants. This research emphasizes the need for further research within
the South African context.
Keywords: volunteerism, volunteer motivations, interpretivist approach, thematic
analysis, qualitative research, South Africa
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Volunteer motivation is a recurring theme in research and occupies a large volume of
literature on volunteerism. Existing literature concerning this phenomenon describe what
forces drive people to willingly and regularly sacrifice their time and resources to strangers.
According to Statistic South Africa (2018) a volunteer is someone who helps an
organisation or group in terms of time, services, or skills without being paid to do so. The
White Paper for Social Welfare (1997, p.100) defines a volunteer as “a professional or non-
professional person who provides a service to a welfare or development organisation, usually
without reimbursement.”. Cnaan, Handy, and Wadsworth (1996) examined the most widely
used definitions of volunteer in literature and identified four key dimensions that are present
in most of its definitions. These four dimensions are: free choice, remuneration, structure,
and intended beneficiaries. Each dimension produces different categories that exist on a
continuum. Free choice involves volunteering at free will, being slightly coerced to volunteer,
or volunteering due to obligation; remuneration involves earning no monetary compensation,
not expecting any monetary compensation, having expenses reimbursed, or earning a low
pay; structure refers to either formal or informal volunteer work; and intended beneficiaries
are categorised as helping others/strangers, helping friends or relatives, or helping/benefitting
self. Thus, combinations of the categories under the four dimensions produce the most
popular definitions in literature of “volunteer”.
However, research done in Zimbabwe by Madziva and Chinouya (2017) found that
individuals who perform activities voluntarily for the benefit of others without being
compensated for it prefer to be called caregivers rather than volunteers as the term volunteer
“masks the costly nature of their participation” (p. 1137). That is to say, they reject the term
“volunteer” to describe their helping behaviour as a result of the costs they incur due to it.
For the purpose of this study, a volunteer is defined as an individual who spend time
helping others without compensation.
However, what does existing literature suggest drive these individuals to spend their
time performing unpaid work? Various theories and models have been developed to explain
why people do volunteer work.
Volunteer Motivation Models
Unidimensional, bidimensional, and multifactor models exist in literature that explain
what motivates people to volunteer.
Bidimensional models. Bidimensional or two-factor models differentiate between
two categories of volunteer motivations. Finkelstien (2009) concluded that volunteer motives
