Vollinteerism as Leisure

Volunteerism as leisure may seem like a somewhat unusual title since volunteer-ing usually falls under the rubric of &dquo;work&dquo;. However, many parallels exist between volunteerism and leisure. It is likely in the future that volunteer work will become more closely aligned with emerging definitions of leisure. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a holistic definition of leisure, to describe what leisure means, and to illustrate how an understanding of what motivates people for leisure can also be a basis for motivating them to volunteer. Volunteerism will be discussed from the perspective of an experience rather than as work. The thesis of this article is that volunteerism does possess the components of leisure. The more satisfied a person is with the leisure aspects of volunteering, the more likely that individual will be to volunteer initially and to continue to volunteer. The characteristics and definitions of work, leisure, recreation, and volunteerism are intertwined. Generally a volunteer is someone who freely chooses to give of his/her time and effort for no monetary gain. Work is a term which can be viewed in a number of ways. Webster’s dictionary uses a column to define it from twelve perspectives. The idea of bodily or mental effort exerted to do or make something is the most common definition. However, the notion of employment, occupation, or financial gain is usually associated with work. Volunteerism does fit within this first definition, although the idea of labor referring to financial gain does not fit. Leisure and recreation are most relevant when they are personally defined. Textbook definitions primarily provide a means for the researcher or educator to operationalize the terms. Definitions of recreation and leisure are useful in understanding behavior and what people choose for their free time.