A new survey by social platform Neighbourly has found that employee volunteering (EV) is the route to a happier workforce. The survey, carried out by an independent research company with 2,000 people across the UK, found that employees who have volunteered with their company are 13% happier than those who have not.
Neighbourly commissioned the survey to gain greater understanding of the attitudes around happy, healthy communities and the value of volunteering, with a number of questions addressing employee volunteering and happiness.
A happier workforce brings a number of bottom line benefits to a business, including better staff attraction and retention; improved cost savings thanks to lower staff turnover and a reduction in lost wages; as well as a positive culture and an improvement in productivity.
Neighbourly’s survey also found that employees who volunteer are 15% more satisfied with their lives, and that they are also 15% more likely to recommend the company they work for, helping to support the recruitment of top talent.
The benefits of a happier workforce are backed up by research by other bodies. The University of Warwick1 found that being happy made people 12% more productive, whilst a CAP study2 found that replacing an employee costs approximately 20% of their annual salary. In addition, the Centre for Mental Health has just released updated figures for the estimated cost of mental health problems to employers3 which now equates to around £1,300 per employee.
“Whilst the link between happiness and volunteering may not be a new one, the benefits and wider implications for employees, employers and the community cannot be ignored,” commented Nick Davies, founder of Neighbourly. “Having greater insight into the positives of volunteering couldn’t have come at a more crucial time, when smaller community projects and charities are more in need of help than ever, due to the reduction in funding from the government, and we are trying to create transparency around that.”
With 75% of millennials considering the potential to contribute to society when choosing an employer4, the possibilities for employee volunteering are huge. As well as supporting their local communities, 85% of businesses find volunteering advances talent as part of the learning and development strategy5.
Neighbourly helps businesses to activate their social purpose at a local level by aggregating charities and community projects and surfacing their needs through its interactive platform. Neighbourly has worked with a number of retail and FMCG brands, whose volunteers’ responses also echo the findings of the nationwide survey:
- 72% feel volunteering allows them to apply their skills
- 80% said the experience made them feel happier
- 86% said it raised their company’s profile
- 89% want to take part in more events
- 100% said volunteering made them feel proud to work for their company
Carmel McQuaid, Head of Sustainable Business at client M&S said,
“Our goal is to create a positive impact in society and improve peoples’ lives wherever we touch them. That’s why we encourage our employees to give up their knowledge, time, and energy to volunteer in the communities where we operate. We know from our own experience that the value of volunteering goes well beyond the impact of a single task, it actually improves employee wellbeing and happiness in the process.”
References:
- University of Warwick, Happiness and Productivity, February 2014
- Center for American Progress, There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees, November 2012
- HuffPost UK, Mental Health at Work: What No Employer Can Afford to Ignore, September 2017
- Harvard Business Review, What Do Millennials Really Want At Work?, April 2016
- Deloitte, Impact Survey 2016
Paul Gray is an entrepreneur and digital publisher who creates online publications focused on solving problems, delivering news, and providing platforms for informed comment and debate. He is associated with HRZone and has built businesses in the HR and professional publishing sector. His work emphasizes creating industry-specific content platforms.
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