Essay Example: The New Volunteer Workforce

"The New Voluntary Workforce" is an article addressing the growing issue of people that volunteer to work on various projects failing to offer their services in subsequent years. Organizational behavior is not the only factor that makes this group of people quit their volunteer work, but other issues present in the contemporary environment play a part. It is essential to review the article to gain a better comprehension of factors contributing to this and consequently fathom means through which this can be offset. Identification of the existing problem and identification of mitigation strategies is the thesis in the article.

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In the article, there is statistical evidence showing more than a third of volunteers in a non-profit organization quit after a year. The report identifies the fact that non-profit organization requires more talent and consequently, the leaders and management of these organizations ought to ensure that they accord volunteers the respect that they deserve (Eisner & Grimm, 2019). With the current economic conditions, volunteers are required more than any other time.

The current generation has seen more potential employees bearing skills that are more technically driven. With the advent of technology, the youth have a crucial role to play in non-profit organizations. It is also advisable for the non-profits to hire the older and retired generation. The article identifies that most of the retired individuals have experience in various fields and can contribute positively to the organizations. A lot of adverse reaction has been associated with non-profit organizations. The negativity has significantly affected the choice of working in a non-profit organization to extent workers already in those firms prefer not working there.

I agree with most of the points presented in the article. The reasons as to why more than a third of people working in non-profits later leave is because their skills do not match assignments accorded by the organization. I agree with this point because some of the work a person is expected to carry out is out of the professional scope the volunteer is trained. When a person finds it difficult to complete an assignment, the consequent of this is demotivation (Eisner & Grimm, 2019). The person seeks work in other organizations and quits working for the non-profit organization. It is essential to note that comfort is critical to the achievement of goals. Lack of comfort while working on a particular project raises self-esteem issues.

Another point to agree with is relating to the reasons why volunteers leave non-profit organizations is lack of appreciation. When a volunteer engages in a particular project, he or she expects to receive some form of recognition (The Appreciation Press, 2019). However, most of the non-profit organizations in the contemporary environment categorize the volunteers based on their financial contribution. Some volunteers might not have the financial ability that others have but dedicate vast amounts of time to a project. When these volunteers note that they are not categorized based on the time they spend on a particular project, they lack the motivation to carry on working with the non-profit and eventually quit.

Some volunteers quit their work because they do not receive quality training to comprehend means through which they are supposed to approach a particular project. I agree with this owing because when a person is accorded an assignment and does not understand how to handle it, there is an ultimate or subsequent failure. When a person notes imminent failure, there is always the option of quitting. Given the fact that they are working as volunteers, they do not have to answer to anybody and seek other opportunities (Eisner & Grimm, 2019).

Even though the article has offered a lot of viable information relating to the issue of volunteers and the best means to maintain them, there are some issues of contention. I disagree with the point that it is imperative to measure the value of the volunteers. The article identifies that it is essential to measure the dollar value of volunteers to motivate them and consequently see to their continued support of the various courses (Eisner & Grimm, 2019). I find this rather disrespectful to the volunteers that do not have the financial ability to support the organization at a particular time.

The whole essence of a non-profit organization is to carry out activities without looking at the financial aspect. If a non-profit decides to value volunteers depending on their financial contribution to the course, then the whole essence of the non-profit lacks. Some people are committed to a course, and this has them spending numerous amounts of time working to promote the course (Eisner & Grimm, 2019). The contribution can be in terms of the volunteers going to various physical addresses where they use their own transportation spending time carrying out project-related activities. Other volunteers and more so the current generation youth might spend a lot of time online promoting the course in social networks. Generally, this is still an aspect of volunteer work, even if it does not involve financial contributions.

Another point to disagree on is relating to leadership. Leaders are imperative in any organization seeking to succeed, and this is because they set the pace for subordinates (Mason, 2018). The article identifies that it is the responsibility of leaders to ensure that they treat the volunteers equally to ensure that they do not abort their contributions. There is some truth to this but not entirely. Reason for this is that non-profit organizations do not depend on instructions of the leader, but the helpers can come together and incorporate initiatives to see the faster achievement of a project. This initiative aspect is better when compared to expecting the leader to come up with all the strategies.

References

Eisner, D & Grimm, R. (2019). The New Volunteer Workforce. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved on 8th August 2019. Web

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_new_volunteer_workforce#Mason, S. (2018). The Leaders Within: Engagement and Leadership Development. New York: Cengage Learning.The Appreciation Press. (2019). You Make a Difference: A Gift Notebook to Show Appreciation for Employees Volunteers. Chicago: Chicago University Press.