Study urges volunteers to find balance
Posted
Updated
Volunteering too much can adversely affect health, a study says. (Reuters: Michaela Rehle, file photo)
An Australian study has found that too much volunteer work can be bad for a person's health and wellbeing.
Researchers from the Australian National University have been tracking the activities of 7,500 people from the Canberra region for the past nine years. The group includes nearly 1,000 people, now aged in their 60s, who take part in volunteering.
The study's author Dr Tim Windsor has examined interviews from this group. The findings are being highlighted as part of mental health week.
The study found those who volunteered between two and 15 hours a week experienced positive effects on general health and wellbeing.
But there was a sharp decrease in mental health and emotional wellbeing for those who took on more than 15 hours of volunteer work a week.
Dr Windsor says it highlights the importance of not over-burdening volunteers and ensuring that voluntary organisations have enough support from the community.
"Adequate government and community support of the volunteer sector is important to ensure that the burden of responsibility doesn't fall to just a few, but is shared by many," he said.
Search for news
Comments (24)
Comments for this story are closed. No new comments can be added. If you would like to have your say on this issue, you can do so via the Emails section of our Opinion pages.
-
Bob:
07 Oct 2008 12:21:18pm
Maybe the casue and effect are the wrong way around.
It is possible that people who take on a large volunteering load are those who have some mental health issues before taking on the volunteering roles and volunteering is their way of reacting to thier mental health issues.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Katie:
07 Oct 2008 12:29:54pm
Very good point Bob.........
Also alot of people I know that volunteer are on welfare and volunteer as opposed to job seeking, I realise that this is not true for all volunteers, however no doubt those who are doing more than 15 hours a week are not working 'normal jobs', and this volunteer option may be more attractive for someone with lower levels of mental health, which would again point to the cause and effect being the wrong war around..Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Robert2:
07 Oct 2008 12:46:13pm
A very good suggestion Bob, I had the wonderful experience of being a volunteer at a soup kitchen for a couple of years, and in that scenario the point you have suggested was extremely relevant.
Volunteering though, for some, can result in similar outcomes to what the article suggests, as there is without doubt organisations who take advantage and forget that the volunteers are just that, volunteers.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
penny:
07 Oct 2008 12:57:46pm
So... compassion and altruism are reduced to being signs of mental illness. I suggest that the intent of the report's conclusions was to facilitate volunteer work, not denigrate it.
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
-
Latent volunteer:
07 Oct 2008 12:32:06pm
Interesting. We should all get involved in our communities to share the benefits. At the same time we would relieve the stress on the more die-hard volunteers who put their own health needs behind those of others.
"Volunteering' is often described as if it were some kind of economic sector. But surely it's just an extension of our social tendencies to help where we can.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
gloria:
07 Oct 2008 12:41:54pm
volunteering is in fact quite a large part of the economy
the ABS releases figures which show how significant it isAgree (0) Alert moderator
-
glenn:
07 Oct 2008 1:36:34pm
Volunteering is very important to society, but its not "part of the economy".
The economy is exclusive to areas that involve financial transactions, so if everyone went around volunteering the economy would take a nosedive. (which doesnt mean quality of life would decrease)Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Brad:
07 Oct 2008 1:57:05pm
If everybody stopped volunteering the economy would take a nosedive as governments would have to pay for services currently performed by volunteers. Imagine what would happen to government coffers if they had to pay 100% of the cost of labour to deliver meals on wheels, patrol beaches, put out bushfires, search for missing bushwalkers, etc. And imagine the public outcry if they axed these services because there was no money to pay for them.
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
-
-
-
Gary Lord:
07 Oct 2008 12:33:35pm
People like to live in ignorance. Just look at the USA today.
Sometimes it takes hardship in your own life before you wake up to the ugly realities about the society you live in. And when you do wake up, what do you do about it?
Some people struggle valiantly to improve society for the better, only to be repeatedly frustrated by the failings of human nature all around them. You're damn right it's depressing!Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Latent volunteer:
07 Oct 2008 12:35:58pm
I should ad that the author could have presented the same study results with a positive spin. For example: Volunteering good for health" 2-15 hours a week provides feelings of general wellbeing.
Given the obvious social good of volunteering why not take this approach to presenting the study to the general public. The concerns about excess are surely only for those heavily involved - who would be more likely to read the whole article to see those details anyway. Just a thought.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Tony Grant:
07 Oct 2008 12:54:16pm
Some of the most disappointing aspects of Australian mentality are on show with some of these comments!
The "walking wounded" helping peers out. The study was with a group of 60+ yr doing voluteer work! The word....empathy have any meaning to some on this forum?
With over a decade of funding reversals there would seem the need for more to assist with caring of others...thx Mr Howard and the other losers from the once "famous" side show.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
rfnk:
07 Oct 2008 1:30:04pm
Why not drop the obvious anger and look at the facts? 1. For all its faults, the Howard era was not characterised by `funding reversals' and this bit of history is not relevant to the issue being discussed anyway. 2. Anyone who's worked with senior volunteers knows full well that there is a high number of them who are relatively needy people. This is not a criticism, it is not ungrateful, it is a fact. The lesson is to recognize that these people do have needs also and structure volunteer organizations etc. accordingly. If a person volunteers their time to help others and help themselves as well, there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, full credit to them for meeting their own needs in a positive way!
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
-
Jenny:
07 Oct 2008 12:56:35pm
It seems to me from their comments about welfare and mental health that the commenters are not people involved in volunteering. The study was of volunteers in their 60s which presumably means they are retired.
As a retiree, I do about 12 hours volunteering a week, one regular stint and one variable.
The issue is probably about putting boundaries around your volunteering. If you do one day a week regularly, then that puts a boundary around that activity.
If you volunteer in an open-ended capacity, generally because you are interested in and committed to what you are doing, then it is possible to become too involved and overstretched, and the organisaiton you are working for may come to expect too much of you. This is where it is important to set boundaries for yourself and the organisation.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Paul Neri:
07 Oct 2008 12:56:50pm
Perhaps some people volunteer their services for the wrong reasons?
They hope the recipients of their good deeds will gush plentiful thanks and when that doesn't happen, they become despondent?
Volunteering is not about making you feel good about yourself!Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
tracey:
07 Oct 2008 1:22:31pm
perhaps they are old and that makes them more vulnerable to these issues than a young person would be......volunteering is hard work and not for the faint hearted..... would you like to mop up the vomit of a drug addict?.......I doubt very much it has anything to do with the narcissim you're referring to.
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Qu0kka:
07 Oct 2008 1:42:38pm
Oh I don't know...I tend to think that people always do something for a reason. Often you might get a feeling of well-being...othertimes it might satisfy some other urge (be it a sense of obligation to community, fear of god/s, or some other gratification that may be difficult to measure) - either way you're meeting some 'need' or 'desire'.
To assert that people should get up and do something such as volunteering for no reason at all is a little naive. I guess these things can get complex - but if somebody gets feelings of well-being from volunteering, then all the better I say. It has to be about something.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
-
muzz:
07 Oct 2008 1:07:14pm
Volunteering is in a crisis and has been for some years. This report highlights the effects of poor support, an overwhelming workload and the complexity of helping.
Volunteers often take on less complex duties such delivering meals but often alos get involved in complex activities such as providing social and emotional support to people and projects that require complex skills and significant amounts of energy.
Our system would be in serious trouble without volunteers and this study highlights the fact that we need to support our communities and its many volunteers.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Muzz2:
07 Oct 2008 1:22:46pm
I too am an active volunteer and see it as frustrating to be doing tasks not knowing what I am supposed to achieve. Requests for better documented guidance results in poorly documented guidance, open to interpretation and of little use. To be honest, I am getting fed-up with this amateurish approach to using my skills for little benefit to me or mankind.
Think I will find another role where I can get some satisfaction from making a contribution instead of just filling a hole in the roster.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
pete:
07 Oct 2008 1:27:05pm
the atitudes on display here makes me wonder if there are a lot of Gen Y's here.
Just remember to be nice to volunteers, who will probably be manning the soup kitchen and homeless refuge that you have to go to after the big D event hits you and you no longer have a job to service all your credit.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Brad:
07 Oct 2008 2:01:14pm
There's more to volunteering than soup kitchens. Think about organisations like rural fire brigades and the SES. I can fully understand why those doing more than 15 hours per week in such organisations may experience a sharp decrease in mental health and emotional wellbeing - they probably have to deal with more BS from government agencies!
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Robert2:
07 Oct 2008 2:18:40pm
Brad, with due respect to the organisations you mentioned, I doubt if there would be many 60+ age group doing the ultra physical work required.
Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
-
-
Jan:
07 Oct 2008 1:43:26pm
We live in a society where we are defined by 'what we do'. If we don't have a real (as in 'paid') job, then the only way to get that social acceptance is to volunteer.
I just don't tell people I don't get paid for what I do. If I did, they would know I was a 'dead beat'.
Instead, I try to find meaning in life with working regular hours at something I feel is useful. And yes, this is more than 15 hours a week.
Is it the unpaid work I do that makes me 'sick' or is it a society that requires me to play games such as this to be acceptable.
Actually, I love my work and consider myself a professional. I use my 'unpaid' job title on census forms and so forth. I would much rather spend what productive years I have left putting all my training to use than taking on a cleaning job - which is what is mainly on offer for one of my vintage.
And yes, it does make me depressed that I work with people who get paid for doing less than I do. And are not as good at it as I am either (in my not so humble opinion).Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
Pen Pal:
07 Oct 2008 1:43:56pm
If the community had to pay for the services provided free by our volunteers, our personal rate of taxation would substantially increase.
If it wasn't for our volunteers, some parts of our society would collapse, so we must do what we have to, to keep them fit.Agree (0) Alert moderator
-
juliet:
07 Oct 2008 2:00:12pm
maybe the decline in health was due to oldies (all 60+ in this study) just doing too much physical work, whether it be voluntary or not.
i have an older relative who is in exactly this category. as a retired nurse in her 70's, she never says no to any request for help and frequently works herself into a sickbed. she does it partly to prove she isn't 'old' and can still work, and partly because she likes to feel useful. the cost is often her own health.Agree (0) Alert moderator
