I have worked all my adult life so far and needed to be up and doing, even if I had retired. This is not a status I really enjoy, and one where you become almost invisible to the rest of the (younger) outside world. I guess, among other things, we wear the wrong shoes, flat, soft, no heels, as displayed so tellingly in the “Absolutely Fabulous” film.
So I have been volunteering in all sorts of different settings. It has been quite an eye opener in terms of the expectations that different organisations have of their volunteers. Some value what we do and understand that, though we are not paid, we might like a ten minute break in a three hour shift and the opportunity to perch somewhere. Others subject us to various interesting tests, like the “secret shopper”, when an unknown person comes into the shop, gets you to serve them and then reports back on your performance, which I fell foul of, or the “why aren’t you upselling” one. This was despite the fact that all my experience has been in health or social services and I have no idea what they are talking about. And if I wanted to be a retail assistant, I would have found a paid job.
One of the more difficult challenges presented is when different parts of an organisation do not agree on either having, or the best use of, their volunteers. Piggy in the middle is not my idea of fun. Of course, all organisations change, so keep your volunteers in the loop!
Some organisations use the inevitable shortcomings of a minimally trained workforce as a stick with which to beat their unfortunate line managers. If we are not doing all these aforementioned things, our managers bear the brunt of it from more senior managers, of whom there sometimes seem to be an inordinate amount. I thought I was volunteering for a charitable concern, not a bureaucracy.
On the other hand, volunteering is great fun, as you meet lots of interesting people and have the opportunity to learn new skills, so important in keeping what grey cells there still are, in reasonable working order. New friends are made, and customers and visitors helped and supported, so giving a real sense of purpose and usefulness. Supervisors and managers value and befriend, help the bewildered (will I ever understand this till?) and make you feel part of the community again.
Payment represents worth in this world, so the danger does remain of the volunteer being exploited. No trade union to represent us, all we can do is withdraw our labour and then feel really guilty that we are letting down these nice (or not so nice) people!
In many ways, there is a conflict in being a volunteer, both to the organisations and the volunteers themselves. We want to get out, make new friends and support causes we love. Many of us have had high flying careers and have managed teams of people, so we can be picky and critical. The organisation wants a willing worker and does not want or expect us to interfere in any way. Fair enough, but quite difficult to hold our tongues.
So, if you are going to volunteer, go for it, but be aware there can be a lot of paperwork! Recent changes in employment legislation will require references, DBS, (disclosure and barring service) police checks, written confirmation from insurers if you are driving – even mileage attracts commuter rates for some of us – and performance reviews. No, I didn’t believe it at first, either! You didn’t know you were going back to (unpaid) work, did you?
Gillian Roder is a volunteer at Rye News where none of these problems (of course) apply (!)
Photo: Seana Lanigan