How To Motivate Volunteers With Behavioral Science

Jayden: Volunteer activities necessarily involve some level of freewill – the volunteer actively wants to engage in the behaviour. You usually need to be in a privileged position to be able to volunteer, as you’re giving up time you could otherwise spend on paid work or leisure activities. Sometimes, people will be doing unpaid labor under the veneer of volunteering, yet that isn’t a product of free will. 

Julian: People sometimes have a perception that neoclassical economics says that we are only self interested and only care about maximizing our utility. Do you find that to be convincing?

Jayden: I think classical economic models can explain some things, but often they can’t explain  human behavior. As we now understand quite well with some teachings from behavioral science, individuals are not rational actors. 

Jayden: And there are many reasons why we may not act in a way that economists might predict. A big reason for this is that we’re a social species that forms complex communities. We never make decisions that are truly independent – they’re shaped and informed by our environment. 

Jayden: I think volunteering is a good example of acting in a way that economists may not predict – namely, that people respond to monetary incentives. A lot of the reasons why people might engage in unpaid labor are associated with the social role they play in their community. Also, intrinsic and altruistic motivations might provide utility to individuals in a way that economists wouldn’t necessarily predict (as those who volunteer are not being strictly monetarily compensated), so it can be tricky to measure using typical neoclassical models. 

Julian: So you think people can derive utility from altruism itself?

Jayden: Neoclassical economics “selfish” model of utility does not allow for the fact that most of us in society care about the well-being of others. However, you can imagine revised models where individuals derive value from prosocial behavior. In fact, there are things called “benevolent utility functions.”  I’ll get to some of the reasons why later, but there are many benefits that people receive as a result of volunteering that can incentivize them to engage in it. 

Julian: Okay, interesting. So many people in our current day and age feel really burned out from being overworked, or from academic obligations as well. What are some reasons that, in spite of our busy schedules, we should make more of an effort to volunteer?

Jayden: There are a ton of reasons why volunteering offers positive direct and other spillover effects to the person volunteering. The first main outcome of volunteering is increased happiness and life satisfaction, which can arise when you have the opportunity of aligning your actions to your values. Not everyone can find a paid job that fulfills their interests in contributing to a greater social good and playing a role in their community. For example, you may care a lot about the environment but work for an accounting firm. Beyond taking action in your individual life to minimize your carbon footprint, you could volunteer for a local conversation group. 

Jayden: Volunteering then can become an outlet to fulfill your social function in a way that will actually make you happier.This has been proven empirically in psychological studies that have demonstrated that the act of volunteering in itself can make you happier in the long run. For instance, a metastudy published by the University of Exeter found that volunteering had favourable effects on depression, life satisfaction, wellbeing.