Volunteering in older age: an organizational perspective

an article by Andrea Principi, (National Institute of Health and Science on Aging (INRCA), Ancona, Italy), Robert Lindley, (Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK), Jolanta Perek-Bialas, (Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw and Jagiellonian University, Krakow) and Konrad Turek, (Jagiellonian University, Krakow) published in International Journal of Manpower Volume 33 Issue 6 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on organizational perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of engaging older volunteers, and on how they might best capitalize on the availability of older volunteers in different countries and sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from 74 case studies of voluntary organizations carried out in eight European countries, conducted mainly between spring 2009 and autumn 2010. On-site interviews adopting common guidelines were carried out with organizational representatives.
Findings
From the organizational perspectives, some disadvantages of engaging older volunteers are: difficulties matching older volunteers to tasks; problems relating to health and declining capacities; the need for special training efforts. Examples of perceived advantages are: considerable knowledge, skills, experience, reliability and strong commitment of older volunteers. In spite of the very different contexts, objectives and notions of “performance”, cost-benefit assessments of older volunteers do not differ greatly from those generally held by employers about older employees. Countries differ considerably in the recognition of older volunteer potential.
Practical implications
Organizational policies and initiatives to capitalize on the availability of older volunteers are examined in the paper. Country and sector-related reflections show how different and changing are the environments for volunteering. Policy makers need to recognise these when implementing active ageing policies. Voluntary organizations should raise their awareness of the need for innovation in volunteer management, especially relating to older people.
Originality/value
There has been much research about the experiences of older volunteers and how they benefit from the operations of civil society organizations. The perceptions of the organizations have, however, been neglected and these are explored in this paper.

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