A recent article on knonxvillebiz.com, "Ensure that Volunteering is Voluntary" by Rachel Park Hurt and Paul Wehmeier outlined some of the benefits of employee volunteer program, but noted that employers need to make sure that employees truly feel their volunteering is done freely and optionally. If not, employers could be liable for wages, including overtime.
Legal concerns are not the only reason to make sure employee volunteer program (EVP) activities are voluntary. If employees feel they are forced to participate or experience significant peer or supervisor pressure to engage in the program, they will likely engage in subtle resistance, and they and their teammates will not gain any of the teambuilding benefits of the EVP. Nor will the pressured employee feel the sense of meaning and well-being that comes from freely volunteering.
When I was involved in recruiting at the Oklahoma Blood Insitute, I saw how peer pressure from the work group could transform a lifegiving, selfless act into a source of stress and resentment. Additionally, I knew people who were gay, but not out at work. They felt they had to go through the blood donation process anyway, though it ultimately wasted the time, effort, and equipment of all involved since at the time (and currently) gay men are not allowed to donate blood.
Legal concerns are not the only reason to make sure employee volunteer program (EVP) activities are voluntary. If employees feel they are forced to participate or experience significant peer or supervisor pressure to engage in the program, they will likely engage in subtle resistance, and they and their teammates will not gain any of the teambuilding benefits of the EVP. Nor will the pressured employee feel the sense of meaning and well-being that comes from freely volunteering.
When I was involved in recruiting at the Oklahoma Blood Insitute, I saw how peer pressure from the work group could transform a lifegiving, selfless act into a source of stress and resentment. Additionally, I knew people who were gay, but not out at work. They felt they had to go through the blood donation process anyway, though it ultimately wasted the time, effort, and equipment of all involved since at the time (and currently) gay men are not allowed to donate blood.
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| Rodney Davis, Alameda County Community Food Bank (Creative Commons License) |
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