What drives volunteer’s satisfaction, and how individuals can benefit from it? : Guide being a volunteer for dummies

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What drives

volunteer’s satisfaction,

and how individuals

can benefit from it?

BACHELOR PROJECT THESIS WITHIN: Business NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15

PROGRAMME OF STUDY: KEDGE, Bachelor AUTHOR: Imane SIGNATE & Mariama BOUBACAR SANDA JÖNKÖPING May 2020

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank our tutor Lucia Pizzichini for all of her advice and support during these five months. She gave us insightful information until the end, which allowed us to develop our report in the best possible way. Besides, we also wanted to express our gratitude to M. Anders, who manage this course and the way he designed it as this allowed us to keep track of our progress. We learned a lot during the seminars, and despite the Coronavirus, the administration enabled all students to continue classes from home through Zoom. Therefore, we wanted to convey our sincere gratitude to all the staff at Jonkoping University. They did their best to make sure that everything is following the schedule.

We are also thankful for all the other groups' recommendations. Moreover, we are grateful that they took their time to read our report to come up with genuine advice to improve our paper. Finally, we express our sincerest thanks to all the volunteers who answered our survey and accepted to take part in an interview. We are sincerely grateful for the time they spared to answer our questions, and for the data, we were able to collect from them. Their testimony helped us a lot for our thesis.

Disclosure

Before starting, the readers must understand that the pronoun “you” has been purposefully used in the analysis and interpretation part. We directed it to readers who would be interested in taking part in any volunteering mission. This thesis wants to be informative and gathered information to help future volunteers prepare well their experience by understanding what might procure them satisfaction. Besides, the authors’ subtitle was inspired by the famous series of reference books “For Dummies”. The information display was simplified and put in the disposition of all interested in taking part in volunteering or curious about it.

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Bachelor Project in Business Administration

Title: What drives volunteer’s satisfaction, and how individuals can benefit from it? - Guide

being a volunteer for dummies

Authors: Imane SIGNATE & Mariama BOUBACAR SANDA Tutor: PIZZICHINI Lucia

Date: 2020-05-18

Key terms: Volunteer Management, Volunteer Satisfaction, NGO’s, Volunteering

experience, Drivers of satisfaction

Abstract

Previous studies focused on the main factors of volunteer’s satisfaction and how the organizations can influence it. This paper set out what drives volunteer’s satisfaction and in which ways can individuals benefit from it. The authors implemented the ground theory to approach this problem. They conducted qualitative research and collected data from thirty-two (32) volunteers through a survey. Then, ten selected respondents passed systematic interviews. The survey was designed in French and English to reach the maximum of volunteers. The Volunteer’s Satisfaction index inspired the design of the survey, which aim to measure the outcomes of volunteering experiences. The interviews lasted forty-five (45) minutes on average and designed to support and elaborate on the survey’s responses. Results showed that diverse elements affect the volunteer’s satisfaction. The study ranged these statements into four main categories: Support and Guidelines provided by the organization; Social integration and colleagues support; Sense of achievement and skills learned, and Rewards and Attention received. These are the four primary sources of volunteer’s satisfaction highlighted by our respondents. Volunteers can benefit from it by embracing the guidelines and ask for definite objectives in their missions. Seek social interactions and bond with other volunteers, reach their objectives and take every opportunity to exploit or learn skills and share their experiences and accept the recognition. Thus, the findings identified volunteer’s satisfaction drivers and the control of these elements by volunteers. At the end of the paper, contributions for future volunteers, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

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1. INTRODUCTION ... 3 1.1 PROBLEM DISCUSSION ... 3 1.2 PURPOSE... 4 2. FRAME OF REFERENCE ... 6 2.1 JOB SATISFACTION ... 6 2.2 VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT ... 8 2.3 VOLUNTEER SATISFACTION ... 13 3. METHODOLOGY... 16 3.1 STUDY REGION... 16 3.2 STUDY DESIGN ... 16 3.3 STUDY SAMPLE ... 16 3.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ... 17 3.5 DATA COLLECTION ... 17 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS ... 18 4. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ... 19

4.1 SUPPORT AND GUIDELINES PROVIDED BY THE ORGANISATION ... 19

4.2 SOCIAL INTEGRATION AND COLLEAGUES SUPPORT ... 21

4.3 SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT AND NEW SKILLS LEARNED. ... 22

4.4 REWARDS AND ATTENTION RECEIVED... 23

5. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION: BEING A VOLUNTEER FOR DUMMIES ... 25

5.1 ELEMENTS THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR SATISFACTION ... 25

5.2 DIFFICULTIES THAT YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTERED... 27

5.3 PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 28

6. DISCUSSION ... 31

6.1 CONCLUSION ... 31

6.2 IMPLICATIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS ... 32

6.3 LIMITATIONS ... 32

6.4 DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ... 33

REFERENCES: ... 34

FIGURES ... 37

FIGURE 1.1:DIAGRAM OF THE GRADES PERCENTAGE FOR THE STATEMENT:HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE WITH VOLUNTEERING? ... 37

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FIGURE 1.2:DIAGRAM OF THE GRADES FOR THE STATEMENT:THE INTEGRATION WAS EASY ... 37

FIGURE 1.3:DIAGRAM OF THE GRADES FOR THE STATEMENT:I LEARNED NEW SKILLS ... 38

FIGURE 1.4:DIAGRAM OF THE GRADES FOR THE STATEMENT:I WAS ABLE TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ... 38

FIGURE 1.5:DIAGRAM OF THE GRADES FOR THE STATEMENT:I GOT LOTS OF LIKES ON SOCIAL MEDIA ... 39

TABLES ... 39

TABLE 1.1:GRADE REPARTITION IN PERCENTAGE REGARDING QUESTION: ... 39

TABLE 1.2:GRADE REPARTITION IN PERCENTAGE REGARDING STATEMENT:... 40

APPENDIX... 46

APPENDIX 1:SURVEY QUESTIONS:... 46

APPENDIX 2:SYSTEMATIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:... 60

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1. Introduction

There will always be phenomena that will interfere with the well-being of our society, such as natural disaster, poverty, or even the current coronavirus pandemic. The point is that we will always need people to help. Someone willing to offer its service, undertake a task within or without an organisation without being paid. They are called volunteers.

In this paper, we aim to study volunteer’s satisfaction in the humanitarian supply chain (HSC) or Humanitarian Logistics (HL). Humanitarian Supply chain consists of ensuring that people who have suffered any disaster have the necessary elements to recover from it (food, blanket) (Lehmacher, 2017). Whereas Humanitarian logistics (HL), is the part which consists of organising the delivery of these elements and warehousing them (“Humanitarian logistics and procurement - IFRC”, 2018). Both concepts are considered the same here as in the literature review; both terms will be retrieved as other authors use one or another in their studies.

The research focus on what influence volunteer’s satisfaction. We noticed that many authors had explored volunteer’s management and the optimisation of the humanitarian supply chain. Volunteer’s satisfaction has also been studied, very often, as a tool to enhance the performance of a non-governmental organisation (NGO). NGO’s are a non-profit organisation at a local, national or international level who assist people in need (“DEFINITION OF NGOS”, 2016). Besides, this paper would like to propose a model where the results of our research can be used by future volunteers to manage their own expectations. We do not want to highlight the relationship between our results and the processes within the organisation. This report will discuss the different elements of satisfaction as a way to approach the volunteering experience. We already know that organisational support, participation efficacy, a sense of empowerment and group integration (Wong, Chui & Kwok, 2010) are crucial to volunteer’s satisfaction. However, we would like to test new response elements such as the location of the mission, friend’s presence and a boost of their social media fame.

1.1 Problem discussion

In the humanitarian sector, uncertainty is unavoidable. Uncertainty is present when it comes to the impacts of a disaster, the supply of volunteer, the accessibility of the place, the financial resources or the cost of the operations (Chakravarty, Amiya K 2014). Moreover, uncertainty is at all levels of the supply chain but there is also uncertainty for the people involved in the process. There is no guarantee of satisfaction for them, and without financial

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support, satisfaction is all they can seek for. Satisfaction and expectation are proven to have a high correlation. The higher the expectations are, the harder they are to meet, and when not met, dissatisfaction happens. By identifying what satisfy volunteers, we will be able to help them get a clearer idea of the outcomes of their experiences.

Therefore, our study will add value to the previous researches on the topic as we are using a different approach to discuss our results. Also, the findings addressed are towards the volunteers, so our studied population and the beneficiaries of this study are the same individuals. Therefore, we will be addressing the following question: what drives volunteer’s

satisfaction, and how individuals can benefit from it?

1.2 Purpose

Thanks to our class in Supply Chain Management, we realised the challenges that people are facing when it comes to disaster management. We never really thought about it before, and we have the desire to delve a bit further into this topic. Moreover, we both plan to join a humanitarian mission in the future. However, we share some concerns on the condition of volunteers in non-governmental organisations. We were wondering if we were going to enjoy our time there and what would be the outcomes for us. This study goal is to understand what satisfy people who voluntary take part in a humanitarian mission and most importantly identify how they benefit from this experience. In our research question the term “benefit” is used to describe how the Volunteers can expect and act upon the factors that will bring them satisfaction.

We are driven by the hope to find results that will help us decide about a future volunteering experience. Volunteer satisfaction is not the number one priority in a non-profit organisation. However, it still affects the performance of the supply chain. With our study, we hope to reduce volunteer dissatisfaction by helping non-paid labour to manage their expectations.

David Maister (1947) said that “neither perception nor expectation necessarily reflects

reality”. In the case of our thesis, we aim to identify what is satisfying the volunteers and help

the next generation of volunteers get ready for this experience. We believe that the determinants of satisfaction are reliable indicators to manage expectations. Indeed, satisfaction comes from experiences, while expectations are on assumptions. By understanding what volunteers experienced and what was the positive outcome out of it, future volunteers can use the results

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as a guide through this experience. We want volunteers to anticipate their satisfaction and get reassurance on their decision to join an NGO.

In order to address this topic, we will first conduct a literature review, followed by a collection and analysis of data. We will then discuss our findings and conclude our paper.

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2. Frame of reference

As the number of disasters increased through the years, the demand for volunteers is also increasing. Many authors have focused on the motivations and the factors that push people to volunteer. Nevertheless, just a few of them have taken into consideration the satisfaction of volunteers through these elements.

Articles researched trough ScienceDirect, Emerald or ProQuest guided developing our theory. The Keywords used were “Volunteer satisfaction”, “Volunteer management”, “Humanitarian supply chain” or “Job satisfaction” on Google Scholar to narrow down the number of articles and find the most relevant ones for this study. Finally, out of those thirty (30) explored articles, the nineteen (19) most relevant were chosen to support our paper.

Hence, this part has been divided into three sub-categories to analyse three key concepts: Job Satisfaction, Volunteer Management & Volunteer Satisfaction.

2.1 Job Satisfaction

An important aspect to consider for this study is job satisfaction. Many authors addressed this issue in their paper. However, not a lot of them linked its impact on volunteers’ satisfaction. As volunteering increased through the years, it is crucial to identify the sources and structure of job satisfaction for volunteers (Gidron, 1983). In his paper, Gidron argues that volunteering is not altruistic. However, the people involved in such acts expect something in return (satisfaction and mental benefits). Authors such as Clary et al. (1998) share the same belief. In their paper, Clary et al., (1998) used the functional approach to address their research question: “Why do people volunteer?”. An essential aspect of this approach is that individuals tend to perform and act better when their actions are towards different psychological functions” (Clary et al., 1998).

Regarding this, it seems to Gidron and Clary et al. that, for instance, teachers will give their best in teaching when giving a class to students who have suffered from war or any disaster. Even though they do not receive a salary, they feel more fulfilled as they can share their knowledge with people who are keen to learn. Whereas at school, they receive a salary for this knowledge and have to follow the program, there is less freedom on the way they can teach. Thus, they gain less satisfaction from it. It seems to them that motivations can act upon the satisfaction of the volunteer. In their paper, Clary et al. identified six motivations for volunteering: Values, Understanding, Social, Career, Protective and Enhancement. They

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developed the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) in order to measure and identify these motivations. From a first experience, “Values” seemed to be one of the essential aspects of volunteers’ motivation. Whereas, Dubey et al. (2016) designed a theoretical framework in their report to analyse the turnover of employees. They identified a framework as an essential factor that impacts humanitarian logistics effectiveness. This framework can impact the satisfaction of employees and influence their stay in the organisation. From Dubey et al., (2016) it seems that external (i.e. employment perception), work-related (i.e. job performance) and personal (i.e. age) factors can influence volunteers’ turnover. Their results show that external factors from an employment perception have a higher impact than the other factors (Dubey et al., 2016). These results indicate that NGO’s employment perception is a significant variable that can affect their employee’s turnover. In contrast, union presence and accession variable are not significant for humanitarian organisations (Dubey et al., 2016).

Moreover, this study shows that personal variables as gender and tenure have a weak impact on turnover and behavioural intentions. Also, a clear expectation has no impact on it. Therefore, managers should take in coordination work-related factors such as “change” in the work environment, which can negatively impact their employee turnover.

Comparing this to Hom & Kinicki (2001) review, the aim was to understand how dissatisfaction affects employees and the correlation with employee turnover. They identified two concepts in their study. In one hand “withdrawal cognitions” represent “an individual’s

overall thoughts and feelings about quitting his or her job” (Hom & Kinicki 2001). They can

be triggered by any moments or events of frustration for the employees within the workplace. For instance, your boss refusing your day off request can be a trigger. In the other hand, the

“inter-role conflict” in the form of role conflict that occurs when individuals have multiple

roles. Next, the expectations and behaviours associated with one role are not consistent with the expectations and behaviours associated with another (“APA Dictionary of Psychology”, 2008). This concept is usually the results of difficulties to balance personal and professional life. Two of the hypotheses that have been confirmed by this study is that:

1) Inter-role conflict decreases job satisfaction. 2) Inter-role conflict increases withdrawal cognitions.

These results will help our research on volunteer’s satisfaction because understanding the effects and causes of dissatisfaction allows the deduction of new satisfaction factors.

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One can argue that this paper focuses on the status of the employee; therefore, the same result does not apply for volunteer. However, a new hypothesis has to pass a test with regards to the factor of volunteer’s satisfaction. One of them could be that volunteering mission does interfere with the other roles of volunteers such as spouse or parent. If it is the case, why so? Volunteering mission is very time consuming and can be risky. Perhaps the family support and recognition offset the lack of time spent with them. Gidron (1983) also link with recognition in his paper by comparing volunteers with paid workers. Both possess some similarities as both exchange their creativity and time for this recognition.

In his paper, he suggests two elements that contribute to job satisfaction: Content factors (such as the relationship with the client) and Context factors (such as the relationship with other volunteers). However, in order to complete his approach, the dual-factor theory should be added to complete these findings. The author suggests in his paper that a single view controls job satisfaction [motivators - achievement] and job dissatisfaction [hygiene - supervision]. The factors involved in producing satisfaction are separate and distinct from those leading to job dissatisfaction (Gidron, 1983). Thus, not being paid is not a higher-order need or a motivator to job satisfaction. Finally, Gidron study results are that felt overall satisfaction happens when the volunteers perceive their job challenging or if it allows them to show up their skills. People are more satisfied because of selfish aspects rather than the interactional ones. In that sense, our study will make sure to divide these two aspects and collect data that can support or refute this approach.

2.2 Volunteer Management

Volunteer management is a crucial aspect when it comes to volunteering. The way managers are handling volunteers will undoubtedly affect their experience within the organisation. To understand a bit more about the role of a non-governmental organisation in disaster management, should utilise the article of Debabrata Mondal and Sarthak Chowdhury. They wrote about the activities and contributions of non-profitable organisations during the Bam Earthquake in Iran in 2003. They interviewed expert and NGOs. They came to the conclusions that the main missions for them were relief and rescue, food support, sanitation, treatments, emergency settlement, as well as providing physiological treatment and training.

If the aim is to study the satisfaction of volunteers, it is vital to have an idea of what they are dealing with regularly. This article lists the various tasks of volunteers, and it helped us to think about what the outcome for them would be. The humanitarian supply chain is a demanding area. As there is a lot more natural and human-made disaster, it is crucial for

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managing everything well. Cozzolino et al. (2012) examined the combination of agile and lean principles in HL. In their paper, Cozzolino et al. (2012) say that the lean approach “mainly

seeks to minimise the inventory of components and the work-in-progress and to move towards a just in time environment”. Therefore, it is more suited “when demand is relatively stable and predictable”.

In contrast, the agile principle “is used when unpredictable demand is combined with a

short lead time.” Knowing this, companies will be able to operate the most efficiently possible.

Cozzolino et al. (2012) focused on the case of the United Nations World Food Program. They explained that the “Lean” approach rest on the optimal management of the inventory and work– in progress. The goal is to eliminate all kind of waste throughout the supply chain, it means the implementation of a just in time environment. The challenge here is that it only works when the demand can be accurately forecasted which is not often the case when it comes to humanitarian missions. That is why the supply chain also needs to be “Agile” in order to deal with unpredictable demand as well as short lead time. After a brief description of the stages in the humanitarian logistics, Cozzolino et al. (2012) identified where should the principles be applied. It seems to them that the agile principle is more suitable for the restoring stage as in this phase, NGO’s want to “ensure effectiveness and speed”. However, the lean principle corresponds more to the reconstruction phase as we are “guarantying efficiency and

cost-saving”. These two principles thought in the first stage may help the organisations to achieve “objectives of effectiveness and efficiency”.

In their paper, Cozzolino et al. (2012) identified that these principles used in the correct phase of the HSC could affect in a right way the achievement of different tasks and mission needed. In the Darfur in Sudan case, for instance. Thanks to coordinate efforts, they succeeded in decreasing the complexity of the supply chain. Thus, ensure effectiveness “such that 560,000

metric tons of food aid were delivered between April 2004 and December 2005, resulting in the highest monthly delivery rate” (Cozzolino et al., 2012). The correct use of these principles can

also help manage all the different stakeholders correctly in their daily basis tasks (Cozzolino et al., 2012).

Moreover, the humanitarian supply chain in order to be efficient needs to have smooth processes and a very well-planned schedule but in the meantime be ready to adapt to any situation. It required for people involved in humanitarian logistics to be willing to deal with

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uncertainty while keeping in mind that saving time and cost is crucial. That is how agile and lean management can help. Christopher Einolf (2018) conducted a review of the literature on volunteer management. He used eighty-one (81) articles and summarised the main ideas to each of them to give us a state of the literature so far. This article is handy to acknowledge what is worth knowing about volunteer management. First of all, the author researched volunteer management through the effects it has on volunteers (Christopher Einolf, 2018). Therefore, volunteer’s perceptions of the model have profoundly influenced the design of volunteer’s management. In order to understand the concept of volunteers’ management Christopher Einolf (2018) highlights the eleven (11) best practices supported by most of the literature. These practices are “liability insurance, clearly defined roles, job design, recruitment strategies,

screening and matching, orientation and training, supervision and communication, recognition, satisfying motivations, reflection and peer support”.

These eleven practices represent the results of eighty-one (81) findings, with different approach and methodology, which add credibility to data. These results can be useful to build knowledge on volunteer management which is a critical sub-topic of our research. In our attempt to acknowledge the best practices of volunteer’s management, the goal is to identify the sources of factors of satisfaction for the volunteers. However, this article does not allow the reader to acknowledge the challenges and different approaches to volunteer management. That is why it has only been used to introduce the topic and will support our frame of references with the work of more authors. This article by Studer et al. (2013) introduces the notion of Volunteer Coordination. They reviewed three hundred eighty-six (386) articles. The study shed light on three main organisational factors that affect volunteers. First of all, the values and support of the organisation appear like one of these elements. They are followed by the social aspect of volunteering, such as the integration and the sentiment of doing something valuable. Finally, Studer et al. (2013) mention the structure of the organisation that might impact the coordination and empowerment of volunteers. In their paper, they demonstrate that volunteer’s management does affect volunteers during their missions. Therefore, it seems relevant to dig into the aspects of volunteer’s management and identify what volunteers like and dislike. Integration and production of meaning are factors to consider as well as the structure of the organisation.

Natalie J. Allen (1987), evaluated the volunteer works in some areas in specific client-focused programs. As stated in the report, evaluation might be challenging to get information as some volunteer program might not see these types of evaluation very appealing. Also, the

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company fears that volunteers might feel questioned about their values when they only want to serve the clients well-being genuinely. However, the author hopes that the volunteer will see this evaluation as “valuable feedback” (Natalie J. Allen, 1987), an opportunity for them to get better. In her evaluation, she identified five factors.

First, the selection, she states that it is difficult for companies to be “choosy”. The selection of volunteers is not very elaborate as it is a very demanding market with not lots of demands (Natalie J. Allen 1987). Therefore, companies need to be careful in order to choose

“those most likely to succeed” (Natalie J. Allen, 1987) in the field.

Second, the training of volunteers. It seems that even though there are some practices before the volunteer must carry with his/her mission, they are not as detailed as they should, which is problematic (Natalie J. Allen, 1987).

Third, the supervision. Natalie J. Allen (1987), reports that volunteer behaviour is not as controlled as paid staff would be. This situation can lead to indifference towards the specification program. To prevent such things, the company could ask the volunteer to record the meetings and designate someone to supervise them. They should not be afraid to be bossy or if the meeting is far from the agency.

Fourth is the relationship between paid workers and volunteers. It is not always positive as the Natalie J. Allen (1987) states. With no support from their colleagues, volunteers’ satisfaction may be affected. To hinder that the staff, feel threatened; it is essential from the company part to explain to all members the role of these volunteers.

Fifth, the relationship between clients and volunteers. It seems that the way clients perceive volunteers’ actions and the way the volunteers perceived the responsiveness of the clients could be very different. Thus, the company can put in place a “Big Brother/Big Sister

program” to ensure open communication from each part with the agency to take care of the

problem (Natalie J. Allen, 1987). This program consists of appointing to each new volunteers a buddy or in other words, a referee. It should be other volunteers who had previous experience on the mission that should be in charge of the new ones. This Big brother/Big Sister should be available to answer their junior question, help them and make them feel like a part of the group. To put it in a nutshell, Natalie J. Allen (1987) advice the evaluators to make sure that the volunteer understands that their feedback will be happily received. All of these aspects of the humanitarian missions and the different options for managers to handle volunteers helped us to understand a bit the atmosphere of some volunteering experience.

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Schiffling & Piecyk (2014) introduce the concept of Humanitarian logistics (HL) and its complexity in their article. They adopted a “stakeholder theory-based approach” to analyse the “complex web of interactions” in Humanitarian logistics. This theory is basing on corporate social responsibility, organisation theory and strategic planning and systems theory (Schiffling & Piecyk, 2014). From their point of view, internal or external groups, relationships with an organisation can affect its decisions or affect these groups. Here the shareholder view is more important than the financial one. However, this theory is limited as the things that counts are unclear. To complete it, it is possible to classify the stakeholders by three (3) attributes (their power, legitimacy of their claim, and its urgency) which will define the salience of each individual in the chain. In their findings, Schiffling & Piecyk (2014) exposed, the small amount of attention to volunteers (22%) whereas beneficiaries are the most prominent group, mentioned in 82% of the papers studied. Volunteers satisfaction here is not a pressing matter here compared to other authors such as Natalie J. Allen where it is essential to take care of the volunteers.

Moreover, it seems that volunteers are most of the time not so easy to coordinate and in the worst-case scenario can hinder the operations (Natalie J. Allen, 1987). Therefore, their only attribute might be the “legitimacy of their claim due to their volunteering”. However, if Cozzolino et al., (2012) view is put in place, agile and lean principles might be the answer to help better future coordination between volunteers and other actors. Finally, this article highlights the challenges that the Humanitarian logistics has to overcome and the difficulties to combine it with the management of volunteers. Therefore, some organisations have limited time resources dedicated to volunteers. It suggests that their satisfaction is not the priority of NGO’s and therefore, may develop dissatisfaction from volunteers towards their mission. Falasca & Zobel (2012), imply in their paper that the coordination and management of volunteers have not received lots of attention. Even though volunteers’ role is very keen in “relief and recovery

efforts”. Therefore, in this report, they developed a multi-criteria optimisation model in order

to help with this mismanagement. Falasca & Zobel (2012) believe that volunteers treated differently as they do not receive any payment should be done. Thus, the tasks assigned to them should be more focused on their preferences rather than their abilities.

Furthermore, they point out the fact that volunteer management differ from a traditional labour one. In this case, it can be assumed that everyone has the required skills to perform. This could affect negatively the overall satisfaction of the individual and therefore, her/his recruiting process. Besides, the significant challenges of humanitarian organisations are that they have a

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big base of volunteer but with narrow availabilities. NGO’s need to recruit and retain as much volunteer as possible for their future missions. In their model, Falasca & Zobel (2012) took into account two variables: total shortages cost and number of undesired assignments. These two objectives help an organisation to elaborate a plan where the immediate labour requirements meet the need for volunteer’s retention.

Moreover, with the constraints part, humanitarian organisations can improve the management of their volunteers’. This model is here to help decision maker not over or underutilise their volunteer labour. They can add a goal programming formulation to the model to minimise the deviation from their targets. However, there is a limit to it; first, the targets need to be very specific for each goal and second is that the solution can be inefficient. Furthermore, to deal with this uncertainty, the fuzzy logic theory can be used. This logic can act positively in the effectiveness of relief distribution. A link exists between this article and the paper written by Lassiter et al. (2015) about the robust optimisation of volunteer management. In their article, they explored the concept of volunteering management as a way to optimise the operations in NGOs. The results highlight that when the allocated tasks match the volunteer’s preferences, the volunteer’s performance increases. Indirectly, it means that being allocated to the tasks their preferences might be a factor that influences their satisfaction. This criterion could be used in this thesis and while designing our questionnaire.

2.3 Volunteer Satisfaction

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, satisfaction is “a pleasant feeling that you get

when you receive something you wanted or when you have done something you wanted to do”.

Volunteer satisfaction encompasses various elements, and some are more complex than others.

Finkelstein, Marcia A. (2008) discusses the importance of satisfaction in the volunteer process. Later, other authors will argue that it is the fulfilment of the motives rather than their importance that “sustain volunteerism”. Moreover, it seems that volunteer given tasks that met their motivation were more satisfied than others. Therefore, satisfaction seems to “correlate

with time spent volunteering and longevity of service”. However, the study does not permit

causal relationship. Moreover, in order to best satisfy the volunteers, their motivations should be investigated early in the orientation and training stage.

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Maria-Carmen Pantea (2012) conducted interviews with twenty-five (25) volunteers between 19 and 29 years old involved in cross-national missions. The study aims to highlight the perceptions of “unfairness” when it comes to volunteer management for these particular missions. First, there is this idea that the organisation is not as ethical as they thought, and a lot of the interviewees feel instrumentalised. Besides this feeling, volunteers also mentioned numerous barriers while doing their job. They received no support from some of the stakeholders, and sometimes these same stakeholders will put a stop to their mission.

In the context of our study, it seems consistent to address if the notion of “fairness” and the absence of obstacle while doing volunteering is a factor of satisfaction. However, the possibility that, on the contrary, the challenging aspect is what brings satisfaction to some volunteers will not be denied. There is a correlation between this article and the study of Wong, Chui & Kwok, (2010) that argues that organisational support is one of the main determinants of volunteer’s satisfaction.

One of the tools to measure volunteer’s satisfaction is the Volunteer satisfaction Index. Roseanna Galindo-Kuhn and Ruth M. Guzley (2008), in their article, aim to test the Volunteer Satisfaction Index. Before their data collection, they reflect on job satisfaction when it comes to paid work. The six factors of job satisfaction for an employee are pay and benefits, promotion, client contact, work efficacy, challenge, and job fit. These factors are interesting to know, in order to see if some of these determinants also apply for volunteers. The VSI is a tool developed to measure the satisfaction of volunteers. It is based on a series of concepts that are believed to influence volunteer’s satisfaction. The volunteer will then associate a mark to this concept on a scale of seven. Zero means very unsatisfied, and seven relates to highly satisfied. The volunteer satisfaction index tested three hundred twenty-seven (327) volunteers, on thirty-nine (39) items and asked to rate each of them using a seven-point Likert-type scale. The five dimensions of volunteer’s satisfaction tested were integration, communication quality, support, work assignment, and participation efficacy. The results highlighted four main factors of volunteer job satisfaction: “organisational support, participation efficacy, empowerment, and

group integration.” According to the regression results, two of these four elements are strongly

correlated with volunteer’s satisfaction and retention. These two factors are participation efficacy and group interaction. The credibility and reliability of the volunteer satisfaction index are confirmed. Therefore, it seems relevant to draw to it and use it for the design of our questionnaire. Also, it gives guidelines of the expected results and new response elements which can be useful for future research.

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In addition to this study, a few years later, Wong, Chui & Kwok, (2010) attempted in their paper to test the credibility and reliability of the Volunteer Satisfaction Index. The results support the four main factors of volunteers’ satisfaction mentioned by Roseanna Galindo-Kuhn and Ruth M. Guzley (2008). The findings of this study add values to our reflection about the potential factors of volunteers’ satisfaction. The support of the organisation, the level of participation, empowerment and integration are relevant determinants to our topic. In addition to the article mentioned earlier, Jinkyung Jung studied the effect of recognition on volunteer activities in Korea. This article asks the question of how the level of recognition affects the volunteer’s satisfaction. The analysis results reveal that “occasional” recognition can prove more helpful in maintaining satisfaction with and continuity of volunteer activities than “absent” or “excessive” recognition. These results illustrate that volunteers’ satisfaction and continuity are not driven strictly by external recognition and rewards.

Researchers suggest that job satisfaction is highly related to performance and commitment in the workplace. Volunteers usually have a moral or/and emotional commitment to their organisations. Ram A. Cnaan & Toni A. Cascio (2008) tried to establish the relationship between the performance and commitment of volunteers. They assessed three different sets of variables (demographic, personality, and situational) to sort out their results and explain their significance. Ram A. Cnaan & Toni A. Cascio (2008) also measured the level of satisfaction of volunteers, and the result was entirely unexpected. They founded no correlation with the level of commitment to the organisation. It means that a satisfied volunteer is not necessarily more committed than a dissatisfied volunteer. This information suggests that commitment to an organisation, for volunteers, is not a satisfaction driver. One of the aspects that contribute to their satisfaction is the surprise effect. Since their expectations are low, they are more likely to be satisfied by any unexpected right moment of their missions. It seems relevant to ask if volunteers are more easily satisfied than employees?

Finally, this literature review served as a guideline for the design of our questionnaire. However, the previous findings will not bias our collection of data since there will be an implementation of new factors of volunteer’s satisfaction and a test for our theory. Furthermore, some articles findings written more than ten years ago, might not be entirely accurate anymore. Besides, the literature review is the first collection of information, and it is crucial to understand all the aspects of our topic and address the correct elements in this paper.

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3. Methodology

3.1 Study Region

The study does not restrain to one geographical area. The target is individuals who have participated in any types of volunteering and are willing to share their experience with us. The authors did not tolerate discrimination regarding age, skin colour, social status or culture during the collection of data. This paper welcomes all volunteers as it gathered the information for everyone who wants to take part in volunteering.

3.2 Study Design

A hermeneutics-based approach methodology was used in this report. This approach consists of interpreting human actions and the products of such actions (“Hermeneutics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)”, 2016). Therefore, the authors conducted qualitative research. It is a “market research method” that aims at gathering data through conversational communication (Bhat, n.d.). The qualitative research objective is to understand what people think and why they think in that way. Data was collected through first a survey (see appendix 1) and second systematic interviews (see appendix 2). The survey allowed the gathering of information and identification of volunteer’s satisfaction factors. Also, the contact information asked at the end of the survey, enabled to select volunteers who wanted to participate in an interview. A face-to-face less-structured interview through Zoom and Skype were conducted with ten respondents. Operating this type of semi-structured method enabled the participant to talk freely and as less biased possible. Moreover, the use of Qualitative data analysis was important in this method. It is a circular process (going back and forth) that help correct, reduce, and verify assumptions.

3.3 Study Sample

The sample is composed of thirty-two (32) participants. In total, fifteen men and seventeen women answered our surveys. Eighteen (18) of them answered the French survey and fourteen (14) the English one. After that, we sent an email (see appendix 3) to the one who wanted to participate in an interview. Out of these thirty-two (32) individuals, ten (10) were interviewed for a fair amount of time which allowed us to answer our research question and ensure time to analyse all of their answers. Six of these interviews were in English (five women and one man), and the rest were in French (three men). We decided to select them due to their

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different types of experience with volunteering. Three of them are working with a non-profit organisation (CorpsAfrica1). One worked with the red-cross. Someone else participated in a

governmental disaster management mission. One volunteered in a shelter. Another two volunteered in a Church. The rest volunteered at their university (for a conference or with the sport association). However, despite our will to have functional parity, only four men and six women were interviewed. The reason is that some, did not want to be interviewed, did not answer our mail request, and some were not available at that time being. However, we believe that we received useful inputs from these volunteers to answer our research question.

3.4 Ethical Considerations

The survey edited in English and French enabled for everyone to understand each question the same goes for the interviews. Moreover, confidentiality and anonymity were always respected. Also, no information was displaced in a way that could harm the participants or allow anyone to invade their privacy. Furthermore, each individual gave verbally before the beginning of the interview their consent. This way was the appropriate and ethical method at our disposition. This caution enabled the authors to have reliable results and deliver the most ethical report possible.

3.5 Data Collection

Two surveys were designed on google forms one in English, and the other one in French. As both authors talk fluently French and English, it was an opportunity for them to reach as many volunteers as possible. Besides, having it online enabled a natural gathering and sorting of the data. Therefore, the information was available anytime and anywhere as long as there is internet access. Also, the surveys had the same twenty-seven (27) questions in French and English versions (see appendix 1). The three first questions are to separate the participants in groups based on their gender, age, and the professional situation at the time of the mission. This distinction can allow us to compare later their answer and see if one factor is more dominant to one group than another one. The other questions intended to identify the volunteering type the participants have participated in and cross-analyse it with other information. Finally, we have

1 CorpsAfrica is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation founded in 2011 by a former Peace Corps Volunteer. CorpsAfrica applies some of the best approaches to international development, including empowering local communities, promoting collaboration among NGOs and our development partners.

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nineteen (19) rating scale questions (from one (very dissatisfied) to seven (very satisfied)) which intend to determine the factors of satisfaction of volunteers. Moreover, some of them were not required as for some volunteers it might have been irrelevant (zero equal non-answer). The scale chosen does an echo to the method in the “Volunteer satisfaction index” (Wong, Chui & Kwok, 2010). At the end of the survey, we asked the permission of the participants to contact them. To deepen their answer through a short interview in French or English. This survey was posted on different social media platforms (e.g., Facebook groups) and shared to an organisation (CorpsAfrica) by mail in order to reach as many volunteers as possible.

Besides, due to the exceptional situation, we are facing right now, all interviews (see appendix 2) were conducted by Zoom and Skype. The individual interviews were designed with open and closed questions with ten volunteers. These interviews took an average of forty-five (45) minutes each, were recorded and helped us deepen our understanding and add example/storytelling to our results. This process allowed us to retrieve information that we did not have time to write down during the exchange. Moreover, we had the consent of almost all of them to record the interview and cite their names. The authors respected their decision during the report of the findings.

3.6 Data Analysis

We intend to use the Grounded Theory Approach, which is more suitable for our research. The grounded theory refers to a set of structured facts and ideas to develop a theory (McKinney, 2009). This type of approach is well suited for qualitative research as it “provides

systematic guidelines for gathering, synthesizing, analyzing, and conceptualizing qualitative data for theory construction” (Charmaz, 2001). This approach will allow us to identify

recurrent themes in the participant’s responses. Thus, all information coming from the survey and interviews will be gathered in the specific category. This data will help us build up our theory and finally answer our research question.

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4. Empirical findings

As stated in the methodology, interviews were conducted after gathering data from our online survey. This survey is composed of twenty-seven (27) questions with nineteen (19) statements according to “Volunteer satisfaction index” (Wong, Chui & Kwok, 2010). Data was collected from fourteen (14) respondents on the English survey and eighteen (18) on the French one, which makes a total of thirty-two (32) participants. Fifteen (15) of them are men and seventeen (17) women. Most of them are aged between 18 and 64 years old and have had lots of volunteering experience. Their mission goes from governmental to the local level. In the end, we interviewed ten of them (four men and six women). They gave us fascinating input that allows us to divide this section into four categories. From this overall information, it has been acknowledged that Volunteer’s satisfaction is driven by:

4.1 Support and guidelines provided by the organisation

Overall, respondents were very satisfied with statements, such as I was supported by the organisation in my daily missions, and I have been provided with clear objectives. More than 90% attributed a grade of four and higher to those two statements on the satisfaction scale from one to seven. Also, the interviews managed to support the results of the survey. Most of the interviewees explained that the support of the organisation or school was crucial to their experience. They understood that without the structure provided by the organisation, their mission would have been entirely different. As stated by one of our volunteers, she felt “very

supported” in her day to day work. Furthermore, another one added that “no one knew no one in the beginning, but the manager was very open, which allowed [her] to create a real bond with [her] manager. She helped [them] a lot. And offered the daily activities [besides being their] intermediate with the organisation”. Hence, it is understandable that the organisations

made sure that the volunteers were well supervised and had the right tools to achieve their missions. According to them, the guidelines provided by the organisation at the beginning of the mission allowed them to get a clear idea of what they should achieve. The expectation of the organisation regarding their work was a factor of motivation for them. However, for three of our interviewees, it was as well a factor of stress, and they sometimes felt under pressure when they thought of the challenges of their missions. Also, the interviewees mentioned a process of follow up implemented by the organisation that seems to satisfy them. They

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explained having to report regularly to their colleagues about the progress of their mission. This system helped them to get feedback and recommendation to conduct their mission, besides, to share their doubts and find a solution to overcome obstacles.

Going back to the survey, the results of a statement such as I could make my own

decisions are not very conclusive. Indeed, the results showed that volunteers are only partially

satisfied with their empowerment within the organisation. Unlike other questions, more than 34% of the volunteers rated these statements four or under on the satisfaction scale. Moreover, only 25% rated it a seven. However, when analysing the survey responses, the statement I had

the opportunity to exploit my skills has been highly rated by the volunteers. Indeed 88% of the

respondents rated it five or higher on the satisfaction scale. It shows that even though they do not feel entirely in charge of their missions, they still state that they managed to exploit their skills during their missions. So, it seems that the low level of empowerment does not affect the resources used by the volunteers when it comes to complete a task. In order to understand this phenomenon, it has been asked in our interviews if the volunteers felt like they did the best they could do to achieve their objective. All the interviewees agreed to say that they felt like they did the best they could do with their portfolio of skills. They admitted that despite the restrictions imposed by the organisation, they managed to use their strengths to carry out their project. Almost none of them felt like the lack of empowerment kept them from doing a great job.

Finally, regarding the training they received by the organisation, most volunteers agree on a medium-high level of satisfaction. Indeed, the statement I have been trained by the

organisation has been rated a four or higher by 78% of the participants on the scale of

satisfaction. Some of the participants reported during interviews that they trained beforehand to have a better understanding of their mission. However, one of our volunteers told us that she expected to be more in contact with the people she had to give guidance too. However, in the end, it resulted that, it was the first exchange of 3-4 words which made her experience a bit boring. Another of our respondent, in contrary, felt prepared thanks to the training she received continually. It helped her adapt to any situation during her journey as a volunteer in a dog shelter. Therefore, the conclusion from both these testimonies is that training is vital for the

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volunteer to overcome the different missions he/she will have to face. Nevertheless, they should not expect a lot from it. It should not be a representation of what awaits them later on.

4.2 Social Integration and colleagues support

Based on previous research mentioned in the literature review, social interactions played a big part when it comes to volunteer’s satisfaction. The survey reported statement, as I created

a bond with other volunteers, was rated by more than 78% of the volunteers a six or seven on

the satisfaction scale. Interviewees acknowledged that social integration within the organisation represents a considerable part of the volunteer’s experience. Most of our interviewees when they were asked what the best part of their missions was. Will answer the fact that they get to meet new people and create a real bond with like-minded people.

So far, we expected it. However, the statement I bonded with the persons I was helping has been ranked way less than the statement I created a bond with other volunteers. The answers were shattered, going from two to seven on the satisfaction scale when it comes to bonding with the persons they were helping. It shows that the volunteers were not satisfied with the connection they managed or not to create with these persons. In order to understand this phenomenon, this issue raised during our interviews turns out that the most significant difficulties for most of the interviewees were to bond with the helped population. Thanks to the interviews conducted, the results have been elaborated and understood. For instance, one of the volunteers, as stated in 4.1, was not able to interact a lot with the students she had to guide as her mission was to deliver primary and repetitive information. Whereas other volunteers, tasks were to share moments with the people they were responsible for, which allowed creating a bond with them. Moreover, they had to interact for a very long time and with the same individuals.

Hopefully, for most of the volunteers, they could count on the support of their colleagues. The statement I was cheered up by the others was mostly graded a six or a seven by 78% respondents. Individual interviews have supported these results. As a matter of fact, as an example, there are cases of volunteers from CorpsAfrica. In this organisation that focused on the project for community development, each volunteer is working independently to one

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another in a different part of the country where they have no attach whatsoever. The organisation implemented a system where volunteers are in pairs, and they must check on each other and make sure their partner is doing well. So, they have to call each other every day and report to one another about their situation, mindset and progress. The interviewees from this organisation admit that this simple process helped them a lot in their everyday life during their missions, and they are very grateful to have this support.

Moreover, this was one of the elements that helped them integrate easily in that new environment. As a result, 81% of the respondents gave a five to seven to the statement the

integration was easy (see Figure 1.2). Hence, during the interviews, some participants admitted

that they felt well integrated. A volunteer reported to us that, during her experience, she was in contact with people from a different generation, she learned a lot. Moreover, participants who had friends with them during that experience gave a high grade to the integration. Another volunteer confessed that “sign up with friends, was cool”. For instance, they could chat when there is not so much to do.

Furthermore, some of our volunteers saw that social integration as an achievement which nourishes their satisfaction during that journey. Therefore, there is a link between having friends during such experience and integration. This element can, in most situation be a factor of satisfaction for any volunteer. As expected, the results show that social interactions play a central role in a volunteer’s satisfaction. Nevertheless, when doing individual interviews, it has been revealed that this part is the most difficult for many volunteers. Bonding with other volunteers appears relatively secure for most of the respondents. However, when it comes to bonding with the persons, they were helping the responses are more scattered. It asks the volunteers to get out of their comfort zone. One interviewee even state that he had to “become

a completely new person and forget who [he] was before in order to fit in with the people [he] was working for.”

4.3 Sense of Achievement and new skills learned.

In the survey, the volunteers were asked if they learned new skills and this statement received one of the highest grades on the satisfaction scale (see Figure 1.3). Indeed, more than

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50% of the volunteers attributed a seven to this statement. It means that they could not be more satisfied with it. In the interviews, all volunteers without exception stated that they learned a lot during their missions. They were also pleased to be able to apply these new skills in their professional and personal life. One of the questions of the interviews was “Do you think/ Would

you say that you achieved something valuable?” As expected, the answer to this question was

evident for all the volunteers. It was a big “yes”, and this is one of the questions where volunteers will elaborate the most. Indeed, the interviewees explain not only the measurable results of their projects and what they did during their missions but also how this experience changed them and what they managed to overcome.

When they were asked the question: “Do you think that this experience will help you in

your future career” they all answered yes as well. Most of the participants explained that with

this experience, they created a network. Even though they might not want to continue working as a volunteer, they now have the tools to succeed in their professional life. The feeling of doing something valuable, and learning new skills is part of a volunteer’s satisfaction.

4.4 Rewards and attention received

Being rewarded for our work usually is a source of satisfaction that’s why in the survey the respondents had to rate the following statement: I was praised by my colleagues, and I was

rewarded for my actions. The first statement was graded from one to seven, with 72% of the

answers around five or higher. Indeed, not all respondents were satisfied for their work appreciation by their colleagues even though the majority of respondents were satisfied/very satisfied. The type of mission is an element of that.

Now the statement I was rewarded for my actions has also received a scattered answer from the respondents. The rate starts at (1) one with a majority of volunteer (72%) still between four and seven on the satisfaction scale. For those two statements, the responses are very scattered, indeed some volunteer states being delighted when other state being very dissatisfied with these two factors. Therefore, the “reward” factor was one of the less satisfying components for the volunteers. However, during the interview, volunteers were not complaining about not receiving rewards or the way other volunteers appreciated their work.

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Likewise, the same phenomenon happened with the statements about “social media”. I

was able to share my experience on social media were, received answers, including all of the

proposed grade (see Figure 1.4). Furthermore, I got lots of likes on social media which is the statement with the higher rate of non-answers (22% of the respondents did not answer it) (see Figure 1.5). When conducting the interviews, some respondents admitted that sharing their activities on social media and getting likes was satisfying when others will not even think about it. These two statements have many aspects to consider. Such as the background of the volunteer, the age or the environment of the mission. But most importantly, their relationship with social media in everyday life. So, the results for this hypothesis were not as conclusive as expected; however, being rewarded and sharing this experience on social media are still relevant sources of satisfaction for most of the volunteers.

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5. Analysis and interpretation: Being a Volunteer for Dummies

Choosing to volunteer is not a natural choice, as we have seen in our interviews; it asks for many self-sacrifices. The idea of offering its services for free can seem unbearable for some people. Indeed, the life of a volunteer, depending on the type of missions is not always easy. Volunteers need to be ready to face obstacles but also, most importantly, to appreciate the small things. This guide of “Being a volunteer for dummies” aims to answer the doubts of future volunteers and acknowledge the satisfaction they will get from such experience. Sherry Anderson (famous Canadian curler) once said: “Volunteers do not get paid, not because they

are worthless, but because they are priceless.”

5.1 Elements that will contribute to your satisfaction

Based on the interviews conducted, not being satisfied once enrolled in a humanitarian mission is a real fear for soon to be volunteers. This notion of volunteer’s satisfaction almost seems selfish when being a volunteer should be all about others. However, as for the paid labour environment, volunteers will do a better job when they are satisfied rather than when they are dissatisfied. The results of our surveys and interviews have highlighted four main elements that contribute to volunteer’s satisfaction. The support and guidelines provided by the organisation are one of them. It appears that volunteers appreciate being supported and guided by the organisation they are working for.

According to the interviewees, it is crucial to have clear objectives on what to achieve; it allows you to forecast the evolution of your mission and see your progress. This component is one of the primary sources of satisfaction for volunteers. It is also crucial that the organisation provide you with good enough working conditions. You probably will not be accommodated in a 5-star hotel and eat gastronomic dishes. Nevertheless, it would help if you had an environment where you will not feel too frustrated to focus on your tasks. Being a volunteer means getting out of your comfort zone, and that is usually what makes it such a unique experience. According to previous research, empowerment within the organisation was one of the factors of volunteer’s satisfaction. Based on the results of our surveys and interviews, volunteers that could not make their own decisions were not unhappier than the one that had

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this opportunity. Therefore, empowerment was neither a factor of satisfaction nor dissatisfaction.

Another element encountered in our data collection was the importance of social integration and colleagues support. Indeed, as mentioned in the empirical finding’s, statements such as I created a bond with the other volunteers, and I was cheered up by my colleagues are among the statements that received the highest grades. Volunteers were delighted with their social interactions with their colleagues. During the interviews, most volunteers emphasised that what makes volunteering worth it is the encounters you make. Indeed, the bond between volunteers is usually a huge source of satisfaction for them. Most volunteers said that when you are out of your comfort zone, one of the only things that comfort you is to know that you are not the only one. It is imperative to feel surrounded, and it is even more true when you are far from home doing things you never did before.

The sensation of achievement will also help you find satisfaction. According to volunteers, the simple fact of supporting something valuable will push you to give your best and make you forget about the less positive things. Every volunteer interviewed has agreed to say that they achieved something valuable. Knowing that you are doing something that not everyone has taken part in, not because of its level but just because some people do not have an interest in it. Can make everything you will achieve valuable. Besides, volunteers are also grateful for the new skills they acquired during their journey as a volunteer. Indeed, learning new skills is always pleasant and even more when it is skills that applied to every aspect of your personal and professional life. This experience unable some volunteers to learn a language or understand how to repair computers, for instance. At the end of their experience, they left full of memories and useful tools for their future projects and relationships.

Last but not least enabler of satisfaction for volunteers is the reward for their job. Based on the results of our data collection, most volunteers appreciate being rewarded for their job when some others do not. Same thing with the attention received on social media when sharing their experiences. Based on the interviews, being rewarded is not part of the expectations of volunteers when they decide to join a humanitarian mission. Most volunteers do not even think about it, and that is why it makes it even more enjoyable when it happens. For you, it will be a pleasant surprise when the organisation, your colleagues or the people you are helping will reward you for your involvement/commitment.

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In the case of social media, sharing experiences and receiving likes for it can be very satisfying for some people, and some others will not benefit from it. The individual interviews reveal that it was more of a personality thing, and it depends on the place social media have in their everyday life. If you enjoy being on social media a lot, then you are more likely to enjoy sharing your experience as a volunteer and getting likes for your posts. On the contrary, if you are more of a social media ghost, you might not want to change your habits. The attention received on these online platforms will not affect your satisfaction.

In conclusion, being satisfied as a volunteer is entirely achievable, many aspects of your mission have the potential to bring joy to you and the sentiment of self-satisfaction. Nevertheless, there will also be obstacles that might get in the way of you experiencing this satisfaction. This factor is why it is essential to acknowledge them in order to get ahead.

5.2 Difficulties that you might encountered

Being a volunteer is very challenging, and sometimes it puts in a situation that is not easy to deal with. The first difficulty that has been mentioned a lot by volunteers is how hard it is to connect with the people you are helping. It seems to be the most challenging part of the experience. One of the reasons is that, if you are in a position to help them, there is this idea of superiority and it accentuates the differences between you and them. These persons require your help and many volunteers stated that they were sometimes embarrassed to be in such position. That is why creating a bond with them can be challenging.

Something else to consider is that you might not be able to take your own decisions within the organisation. The level of empowerment in some organisations is shallow, and you are just asked to follow orders or repeat simple tasks. This could be frustrating especially if you know you can do better and want more responsibilities. For half of our interviewees, the organisation they were working for had a code of conduct that they needed to commit to. This code of conduct can be very restrictive, for example for the volunteers at CorpsAfrica, it applied when they were away in some remote villages. It forbade them to have any romantic relationship. They also needed to quit smoking, drinking and any other habits that might shock the person they were helping. This kind of mission usually last between 6 months and 1 year and it can be very hard for volunteers to change their habits for that long. This is one of the potential difficulties to consider before joining an NGO. Some volunteers confessed that if you are not sharing the values of the organisation you are helping out, it can be challenging to