Corporate Volunteering Statistics (+ What They Mean For The Future Of Volunteering)
There has been unprecedented changed in the world over the last few years, and in particular in the way in which we work, and the burgeoning of 'business for good'.
The conversation around ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and what is the most effective solution for giving back as a business is ever evolving. But, one approach that is tried and tested and still popular in now is corporate volunteering.
But in 2024, employee volunteering looks very different to the traditional 'fence-painting' volunteerism of the past!
Whether you're looking for data to back up your proposal to introduce a volunteering policy at your company, or simply researching whether corporate volunteering can actually impact your employee engagement and wellbeing - hopefully these up-to-date statistics will be eye-opening.
Volunteer Statistics
Below, we've compiled some of the most surprising, and powerful statistics on corporate volunteering, and summarised what this data means for the future of formal volunteering in the workplace:
80% of employees say that group volunteering strengthens their relationships with their colleagues.
Regardless of the scale of your company, on a team volunteering day your corporate hierarchy is effectively ignored! The entire team is working on an even playing field, and you're typically all working towards a common goal, and facing common barriers.
This clearly shows the potential power of volunteer activities to positively affect work relationships, building new connections across different departments in your organisation, which in turn could have a knock-on effect on employee mental well being and creating a collaborative culture in your organisation.
87% of employees who volunteered through their companies noted an improved perception of their employers.
These days, employees are looking for more from their employers. With the rise in remote working post-covid 19, and with GEN Z going to be making up a third of the global workforce by 2025, gone are the days where your staff were motivated solely by their pay check.
These volunteering statistics show that providing your team with a sense of purpose, and instilling a shared value of giving back in your organizations can seriously impact how fulfilled they feel working for you, and therefore employee retention in the long run.
Employee turnover drops by an average of 57% when employees are deeply connected to their companies’ volunteering efforts
Source: Benevity Engagement Study
Volunteer work has been show to directly affect employee turnover - and in a big way! Not only does this recent volunteering statistic highlight the importance of making sure your company aligns with your employees values, but it also underlines how essential creating an EFFECTIVE employee volunteering is, and that volunteer activities need to be high-impact and support causes that your employees care about.
It's not about just getting your team to go and plant a tree one day a year. This statistic is proof that you need to offer innovative, engaging, and relevant volunteer projects, that are available for everyone to utilise regardless of physical abilities, location, or volunteer hours you have available.
This is where virtual volunteering really shines. It doesn't matter if you're in the office, working in a different country to the rest of your team, or only have 30 mins on a lunch break to volunteer. There is a virtual volunteering project suitable for everyone 🙌🏼
Half of the British public intend to volunteer
This one is pretty self explanatory! The demand for global volunteers, and the interest in volunteering is on the rise! The majority of the innovative volunteer organisations on our platform have also noted a big increase in volunteer inquiries over the last few years.
Volunteering online or over the phone is now the third most common place to volunteer. 31% of those who volunteered in the last 12 months did at least some of it online or over the phone.
People volunteer in many different ways, and traditional in-person volunteering isn't necessarily the best solution for all companies. We can see from this study that remote volunteering also didn't impact volunteer satisfaction. So, contrary to popular opinion, virtual volunteering can be just as rewarding and engaging as traditional volunteering activities. Research shows that satisfaction among volunteers is equal for those who did their volunteering online, and those who hadn't completed any volunteering in these ways (92% satisfied respectively).
Charitable organisations worked hard during the pandemic to adapt volunteering to still be highly engaging and high impact even form the comfort of your desk.
Only 55% of volunteers say their volunteer group, club or organisation would reimburse their expenses if they wanted them to. 16% don’t know if they would.
This research shows that organisations need to do more when it comes to easing concerns about volunteering costs for individuals, especially if they aim to encourage young people to offer continued support.
It also further supports to argument for implementing an official volunteering benefit and a set amount of paid volunteering time for every full-time employee. Eliminating any confusion around the expenses involved, and removing yet another barrier to giving back! We're in a cost of living crisis right now, and employees need to be reassured that they can make a difference without it costing them anything.
Among those who had considered volunteering in the last 12 months, 21% said the biggest barrier was thinking it involved more time than they could commit.
People volunteer on their own terms, at their own pace. This demonstrates that there is still significant education needed around the reality of how volunteering looks in 2023. Nowadays, you can commit anything from 30 minutes on your lunch break, a whole volunteering day, to continuous support on a regular basis if you can find the right volunteering partner.
On the Matchable Platform, we prioritise offering volunteering projects suitable for everyone, regardless of your availability or location. Maybe you want to organise a volunteer day for your team, or maybe you only have the time for a planned volunteer hour. either way, there's still plenty of opportunities for you to give back as a business.
Research shows that there are many physical and mental health benefits to volunteering.
It makes sense that getting out and about in a community garden, or local green space can help with keeping your team physically active, but it's now accepted that the mental health of your employees is just as important as their physical health. There are a plethora of mental health related employee benefits available out there to make sure that your team is getting the support they need. But, one factor that is over looked in the mental health conversation is the ability to do good.
Research shows that for most volunteers, spending time in service to others can lead to a drop in stress, and can increase positive, relaxed feelings for employees.
Providing this sense of purpose throughout your company, and giving employees an opportunity to apply their skills in a completely new, and feel-good way can have a significant knock-on effect on employee wellbeing, and motivation.
Despite the UK committing to implementing the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, 99% of all UK companies remain unengaged with them.
Due to this gap, it's been estimated that around 96 million hours (or £15.3 billion worth of skilled volunteer time) that could be contributing to our achievement of the UN SDGs is lost every single year by employers not utilising a corporate volunteering strategy.
On the Matchable platform, every one of our charitable partners contribute to at least one of the UN's SDGs, and you can track your time and monetary contribution to each SDG on your personal dashboard 🙌🏼.
73% of companies offer employee volunteering.
You read that right! A staggering 73% of companies surveyed for this research offered some from of skills-based employee volunteering program.
This shows that offering employee volunteering really is becoming the standard across the board, and will continue to be an important factor in staying competitive in the job market too.
A Business Case For Employee Volunteering
In summary, formal volunteering through your work is on the rise, in demand, and more effective than ever when it comes to creating a positive impact in the world.
What charities are in desperate need of are educated people, willing to share their specific skill sets and expertise, and there is an abundance of corporate teams wanting to improve their image, and meet their ESG goals. It's a win-win for both sides!
