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In this Points of View, Rob Jackson and Erin Spink sit down (well, Rob stood up!) to chat on video about all things volunteer engagement and 2020. In what was an exceptional year for the whole world, volunteer engagement professionals faced new challenges and opportunities of a scale and at a speed that few had ever encountered before. The two authors seek answers to such questions as:
What is Engage? How can we best describe its new, exciting content – including two new columns called Ethics and Ahead of the Curve? And what happens now to e-Volunteerism.com? Can the Volunteer Engagement community continue to access content from this beloved professional journal? And how can leaders of volunteer engagement from across the world contribute to Engage?
The good news first: 2020 is almost over! This article launched on October 15, just 77 days until we arrive in 2021. Few will be sad to see this year over. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there hasn’t been a year like this in living memory (thank goodness). “Unprecedented” should be the word of the year, along with “you’re on mute” as phrase of the year!
Thirty-five years ago, Susan J. Ellis published an article in the Journal of Voluntary Action (now Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly) entitled “Research on volunteerism: What needs to be done.” Ellis mused – in 1985 – that the only subject at that time that seemed to attract the attention of researchers was 'motivation,' addressing the question of "why would these people work for free?!"
Fast forward to the 21st century. In this issue, Laurie Mook reviews a comprehensive study of research on the management of volunteer resources that examines the relationship between HR practices and performance. We then invite you to contribute your ideas for future research. What research questions should we be asking on this topic in today's context?
One of the interesting things about getting older is that memories become a bit more elastic and you find yourself thinking about things that you have experienced and realize that they occurred an age or so ago.
Volunteers can make the world a better place - but it behoves us to ask the question, "Better for whom?" In this Points of View, Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink put this question front and center by challenging leaders of volunteer engagement to look at volunteering in real life from every conceivable angle. Jackson and Spink boldly note that “volunteering is not simply a nice thing to do: volunteers are directly shaping the world with their choices and actions.” As they write:
It would be naïve to proclaim that volunteering is always objectively good. The socially acceptable view of volunteering being for the greater good isn't wrong per se, but it has never demonstrated a true understanding of the complexities and nuances of volunteering in real life. In today's world, this overly simplistic conceptualization is actually a hindrance to understanding the power of volunteers and why our role as leaders of volunteer engagement is so critical.