Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of volunteering.

The Advantages of Volunteerism?

The idea of volunteerism is often one that can carry a few unique positives. If you are uncertain bout whether or not this is ‘for you’, consider the following. It

might help you to see that, more often than not, volunteerism isn’t the boogieman that so many make it out to be.

Improve skills variety

A good part of being involved in volunteerism is that you, or your staff, can get a whole new host of skills out of it. That can be useful for diversifying skills, as

volunteers are often trained to do the intended role.

Make new contacts

Whether it’s for your own business or for your employer, volunteerism allows new contacts to be made. Funnily enough, doing something for free for someone

makes them more likely to want to get in tough with you again in the future.

So, a bit of volunteer work today could lead to some lucrative contracts down the line. Whether it’s because they recommend you or because they hire you

outright, this gives you/your company the chance to build and grow. By meeting new people, you improve your chances of thriving in the long-term by securing

your positive reputation.

Forge a new reputation

A good benefit of volunteerism is that you get to build a better reputation for you/your company. By helping out with a local charity drive, or even local

business, you can start to show yourself as someone/a company who cares. That is so important, and it should allow you to contribute to the local area where

you/your team are based.

Volunteerism allows you to build up a much greater reputation as being a person/company who does more to help out locally. It means that, next time

someone is choosing a new employee/company to hire, they’ll remember you!

Open up new opportunities

From a purely employment perspective, volunteerism can allow you to eventually land a role or a contract doing what you have volunteered for. It will show

the person you volunteered with/for that you can do what they need, and that they can rely upon you to step up to the plate and do the job that you had

intended.

With that in mind, then, it’s easy to see why volunteerism is a good choice for a lot of people. Managed correctly and done through the right people,

volunteerism is a very powerful tool indeed.

Form better bonds

When working or operating a business in a local community, your reputation is everything. With the help of volunteerism, you can help those in the local area

who are down on their luck and need some assistance. That helps you to make a big difference locally, and it will mean that you have made a difference to the

lives of many locals. That is a huge positive and is sure to help build-up and boost your reputation.

Locals are naturally more likely to use a company/hire a professional who went above and beyond to help out someone who they know or trust. It helps to

enhance our reputation, forming better bonds with the local area. In time, that could be hugely beneficial to you/your business!

The Disadvantages of Volunteerism

However, while all of the above is often true, volunteerism does come with a few rather interesting drawbacks. Let’s take a look at some of the major

disadvantages that can come from taking part in a volunteerism program when you either cannot afford it, or cannot make it work.

Risking injury

One major downside to volunteerism is that you could put yourself under needless physical pressure. Yes, it might feel good to go about cleaning out the local

pools for the children to start using again in the summer. What, though, if you manage to get hurt?

 Can you justify losing X weeks or working time, with no insurance, just to say you helped out with a local charity drive?

 It might look and feel good to say you done X or Y for a local community project. Is it really going to feel good with a broken arm, though? Take

that into account.

 Many people forget just how easy it is for a project to get out of hand and to no longer be the thing you signed up for.
 If the tools and conditions aren’t safe enough to volunteer without concern, you should really think twice.

Working overtime

Remember that while volunteering is good, for you as a employer or as an employee, volunteering still required a lot of energy. So, you cannot, for example,

volunteer over the whole weekend, and then go back to work on 9AM on Monday as refreshed as you normally would be. Essentially, you are working double

shifts and more hours per week than you should.

This will have problems coming up all the time. Either you or your staff will no longer have the energy to do the job as intended, or you will find it hard to keep

productivity high. When you/everyone else is burning the candle at both ends, it will mean taking a hit to productivity. This could have issues with keeping

customers and clients happy, and/or protecting your own personal and professional well-being.

Volunteerism sounds great, but the excess demands could force you into damaging situations.

Sometimes, it’s not needed

Another downside to volunteerism is that you can often be asking people to chip in for things they may not have to. For example, getting all of your staff to do

an evening stint down at local charity stores and food banks might seem like a chivalrous task. And it is, in many ways. But keep in mind that these companies

need to train up volunteers. That costs them money. Are you really helping out when you/your staff are volunteering? Or is the output you provide actually less

than the cost of the training?

Volunteering sounds cool, but sometimes we can volunteer in the wrong places, at the wrong time. Whether it’s you who is setting up volunteer schemes, or

you are taking part in one, it pays good money to actually work out how needed the volunteer scheme actually is. Work that out, and it’s much easier to

achieve success in the long-term.

It may seem on the surface that there couldn't be a downside to volunteer work. After all, aren't people supposed to give back a little, help
others in need and otherwise engage in selfless pursuits? While volunteering is an admirable activity, it's worth pondering some of the
potential pitfalls of volunteer work before you dive in. The better you understand the risks and rewards of volunteer work, the better decision
you can make for you and your schedule.

Pro: It's Rewarding

By definition, volunteer work is unpaid, so the rewards you reap will be more emotional and perhaps spiritual rather than financial. The non-
profit Botanic Gardens Conservation International, which relies on volunteers throughout the world, suggests the advantages of volunteering
include "[the] opportunity to give back to society and feel useful," "[to] fill in a gap in your personal life" and "intellectual stimulation and
growth."

Con: Time commitment

Once you begin to volunteer and organizers of that particular activity or program see that you're a valuable asset, you make be asked or
encouraged to do more. This can lead to scheduling problems and leave less time for school, family, work and other obligations. It's important
to know at the outset what the expectations are of your volunteer work and to make clear to organizers just how much time you can devote to
the cause. Setting boundaries is a necessary evil in the volunteer world.

Pro: Health improvement

A number of research studies have shown that volunteering, particularly by older adults, provides health benefits. For example, one study
published in the February 2009 "Journal of Gerontology" notes that older women who volunteered in elementary school classrooms were not
just more active than their counterparts who did not volunteer, but that activity boosted their metabolism to where they were burning twice as
many calories. Physical activity and a positive outlook can also help reduce blood pressure, other studies have shown.

Con: Emotional involvement

Volunteering to clean up a park, help in a library or build a house for Habitat for Humanity can be great ways to stay busy and contribute in a
positive way to your community, without much of a risk of emotional attachment to those you are helping. But if you volunteer to work with
children, abandoned or injured animals, senior citizens, hospital patients or other people in need, you run the risk of involving yourself
emotionally. That's not always a bad thing, but it can carry over into your family or work life and leave you sad or anxious about those you're
trying to help.
Pro: Community service hours

For students who need community service hours to graduate high school or qualify for scholarships, volunteer work is a particularly important
and necessary commitment of time. Some high schools even offer class credit for community service hours. Of course, community service can
also be an option for some people who run afoul of the law as a means of avoiding jail time and/or heavy fines.

Con: Frustration

In its report on "Why People Volunteer," the Voluntary Action Directorate of Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada cites several common
turnoffs to volunteering, such as poor organization, a lack of training and assignments that don't fit the volunteers' interests or skills. But
another key problem is that volunteers can become so committed and involved in their particular cause, they can easily become frustrated that
others don't share their passion. The report states, "Many volunteers care a lot about the work they do and it bothers them that society doesn't
place enough value on it."

Pro: Personal Growth

The "Why People Volunteer" report, which polled numerous volunteers of all ages, found that one of the overwhelming responses from those
surveyed was that volunteer work revealed interests and skills that had never been realized by the volunteers. The report states, "Among the
major rewards and incentives of volunteering appears to be the opportunity for personal growth... Participants mentioned being pleasantly
surprised by discovering they are good at doing unexpected things. There was talk of growing self-esteem and confidence with each new
challenge tackled and skill learned. Others found that life developed more intensity, more colour, as they were exposed to new experiences
that would not ordinarily have come their way."