Called to volunteer and stay longer: the significance of work calling for volunteering motivation and retention

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on non-profit volunteering to argue that the concept of ‘work calling’ is critical to broadening our understanding of volunteer motivation and retention. As an emerging concept, work calling is generally used to explain how individuals satisfy their calling by doing meaningful work. This concept is introduced to the issue of volunteer motivation and retention to detail why volunteers decide to join non-profit organisations and then willingly stay longer. Current theories explain volunteer motivation and retention by focusing on individual factors (commitment and job satisfaction) and organisational factors (management practices, volunteer tasks and organisational reputation). This article integrates work calling with these theories and thus contributes two important insights: (a) volunteers may choose to engage in meaningful work and, therefore, experience self-satisfaction and meaningful life by volunteering; and (b) work calling improves current theories of volunteering motivation and retention at both the individual and organisational levels.