Take this Job and Love It!

Take this Job and Love It!

There has been quite a bit of research on volunteer satisfaction, but not so much on volunteer manager satisfaction. How satisfied are volunteer managers with their jobs?  Do their working conditions differ from those of managers of paid staff? What are the implications for nonprofit organizations and human resources departments? In this issue, reviewer Laurie Mook looks  at a study of 314 volunteer managers, conducted by a group of Canadian researchers who analyzed job-related and organizational factors such as co-worker respect, supervisor support, closeness to volunteers, and the nature of the work as an expression of personal values. Their final model, Mook explains, predicted job satisfaction for both short-term and long-term volunteer managers. 

 

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Wed, 06/12/2013
To me “closeness to volunteers was not a significant factor in explaining job satisfaction” makes sense. My thoughts on this is that our favorite volunteers are always moving on to bigger and better things as they gain more skills and abilities from our projects and mentoring. Many will get offered high paid jobs and some become managers of volunteers themselves. As more and more moved on I found myself becoming a little less connected and dependent on volunteer relationships and more connected to the more consistent relationships in the office (example other paid staff and managers). I also become more interested in the pleasure of project outcomes. Another factor might be that we only communicate with many of our volunteers about once ever 2 weeks or so. This creates a different dynamic to the relationships. But that is just my experience.

Wed, 06/12/2013
I agree with Gary. In the 23 years I've worked as a Volunteer Manager, I've had my favorite volunteers too. But in a City setting we send volunteer off to many different departments and you only connect if we make the effort, over lunch or coffee. It has been easier to build relationships with volunteer supervisor. This always me to find out how the volunteers are doing, if I've placed them well and what new projects are coming up. My greatest satisfaction has always been starting new programs and assisting deaprtments find the perfect match to help with projects. I enjoy watching them success and know we are helping elevate the services the City provides to the community.

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