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VOLUNTEERING/
WORKING HOW LONG?
source: www.cev.be/facts&figures.htm
www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/
71-542-XIE/71-542-XIE00001.pdf
www.volunteeringaustralia.org/
docs/Nat_Agenda.pdf
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Volunteering is much more than simply the giving of time for some particular purpose... - in fact, as a cultural and economic phenomenon, volunteering is part of the way societies are organised, how they allocate social responsibilities, and how much engagement and participation they expect from citizens;
- the role of the state and the nature of state-society relations are important aspects that shape the role of volunteering cross-nationally. Not surprisingly, the fortunes of volunteering as a social institution are, and have been, changing over time, and vary by cultural and political contexts.
It could be interesting, however, to compare how much of their time citizens spend in volunteering activities in different countries and what’s the economic value of their work (but pay attention: indicators are often heterogeneous)... - on average, Belgians devote 21.6 hours per month to non-paid voluntary activities. More specifically: under 25 years of age (4 hours a week); 25-34 years old (2); 35-34 years old (2.5); 45-54 years old (4.5); 55-64 years old (6.5); over 65 years (10). According to the Social Economy Centre of the University of Liège, voluntary activities represented over 160,000 full time jobs in 1999. However, according to another estimate, the impact of voluntary activities in 1999 was estimated to be around 220,000 full time jobs;
- in France, in 1996, time devoted to volunteering was on average 23 hours per month. Generally, men devote more time to voluntary activities than women. In 2002, volunteered at least 1 day (21%), 2 days (16%), 3-5 days (13%), 6-7 days (11%), more than 8 days but less than one month (13%), between 1-2 months (18%); over 2 months (8%). On the economic value of volunteering, France Bénévolat holds the following statistics: volunteer work within associations represented in 2002 over 716,000 full time jobs. The number of employees volunteering within associations is equivalent to 907,000 full-time jobs; (1)
- an analysis of the time Poles provide for volunteering shows that voluntarism has gained popularity. According to a survey carried out in 2004, percentage of Poles volunteering more than 151 hours a year has almost doubled since 2001, whereas volunteering between 1-5 hours a year fell by almost 12% in comparison only 2003. Therefore, it can be estimated that the average time dedicated to volunteer in 2004 was around 50 hours of around 18% of Poles. The estimated economic value of voluntary work in 2004, calculated by multiplying the number of full-time equivalent employees (volunteers) by the average wage in the particular industry, amounted to US$150.8 million;
- according to different studies on volunteering in Spain, volunteers spend from 14 to 20 hours per month volunteering. Another research (2001) only focused on social volunteering concluded that the average time devoted to volunteer is 4.5 hours/week. 6% of the total amount of volunteers is full-time work. In 2001, it has been estimated that voluntary work in Spain was equivalent to 253,599 full-time jobs. In the same year, volunteering accounted for 1.2% of the Spanish Gross Domestic Product, which amounted to around 4,000 millions of euros;
- in the United Kingdom, in 2004, just over 42,000 students volunteered through organised volunteering programmes at their higher education institutions. Each student volunteer gives an average of 82 hours per year to his/her community. Over half of all student volunteers are involved in projects involving children and young people; (2)
- in Ireland, people volunteer for an average of 5-12 hours per month, although the range is wide: some give less than 1 hour, whilst others give over 50 hours. In 1999, the total amount of time given to voluntary work per year was equivalent to approximately 96,450 fulltime workers. According to the most recent figures, this manpower generates in-kind revenue that is worth nearly €600 million to the non-profit sector in Ireland;
- in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor, volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2003 to September 2004, unchanged from the previous two survey periods. Men spent 52 hours (median) doing volunteer work, the same as in the previous two periods. Women spent 50 hours volunteering, down from 52 hours in each of the previous periods. Median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from 96 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to 36 hours for those 20 to 24 years old;
- in Canada, the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) revealed that the annual average hours given by individuals to volunteering had increased from 149 hours in 1997 to 162 hours in 2000. The amount of time spent volunteering increases with age - from a low of 130 hours per year for those aged 15 to 24 to a high of 269 hours per year for those aged 65 and older. Almost three-quarters of all volunteer hours come from one-quarter of volunteers. These volunteers contribute 188 hours or more per year. In 2000 volunteers contributed approximately 1 billion hours of their time. These volunteer hours translate into the equivalent of 549,000 full-time year-round jobs (assuming 40 hours of work per week for 48 weeks);
- in Australia, in 2000 volunteers contributed 704.1 million hours of volunteer work to the national community. Nationally the average number of volunteer hours contributed each week is 1.4, or around 72 hours a year. People aged 18 to 24 years contribute an average of 1.1 hours per week, about 60.5 hours annually. 62% of young people in this age group also give monetary donations to community organisations, compared with 74% of the general population.
(1) To obtain these figures, the total number of hours devoted to voluntary activities in one year was taken. This number is then divided by the total number of hours that salaried employees work in one week in France (35 hours). [ www.cev.be/Documents/Facts&Figures_France.pdf]
(2) Student Volunteering England research, 2004 [ www.nya.org.uk/Templates/internal.asp?NodeID=90614#Volunteering]
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