Abstract
An investigation into the characteristics of volunteers is important to understand why people volunteer. From an applied point of view, these understanding can help to better manage and retain the volunteers in voluntary organizations. The present study compared volunteers and non-volunteers in Sabah using a cross-sectional survey method. Questionnaire packet consisting of measures of religious orientation, and emotional intelligence were self-administered by the respondents. One hundred and sixty eight of them were volunteers and one hundred and eight were non-volunteers. Findings showed that there was no significant difference between volunteers and non-volunteers in term of emotional intelligence (t=-0.13 p>0.05). However, both aspects in religious orientation i.e. Intrinsic Religious Orientation (t=3.96, p<0.05) and Extrinsic-Personal Orientation (t=3.74, p< 0.05) showed that there were significant differences between volunteers and non-volunteers. Moreover, the result showed that volunteers have low mean score for both aspect in religious orientation namely Intrinsic Orientation (mean=19.19, SD: 2.32) and Extrinsic–Personal Orientation (mean=7.83, SD: 1.68) compared to non-volunteers (mean=20.29, SD: 2.06) and (mean=8.44, SD: 1.01). It showed that, mostly volunteers reported less personal gain from embracing religion. The results was also indicated that volunteers can be distinguished from non-volunteers in term of religious orientation. On a practical note, the assessment of EI in voluntary workers could possibly assist in enhancing the human resource management plan especially in training development. Excellent management of this unique group of workers can lead to the success of voluntary organizations in delivering huge benefits to the society.
Highlights
A proper and structured management of voluntary workers in organizations is vital to ensure the effectiveness of these services to the community
It shows that both group felt justifiably good about their emotions such as having the ability to recognize emotion in their relationship with others and able to leave positive effect on others. This is consistent with the empathic joy hypothesis for pro-social behaviour. This result is inconsistent with the study by Salovey and Meyer (1990) show that emotional intelligence is a critical component of successful outcomes in organization management especially for the volunteer workers
Emotional intelligence as a concept should not be discarded as a psychological variable that is important in understanding volunteerism
Summary
A proper and structured management of voluntary workers in organizations is vital to ensure the effectiveness of these services to the community. Volunteers should be protected against too much physical and emotional burden. The tolerance towards the emotional aspects of volunteer work, in turn, can be influenced by a person’s characteristics such as emotional intelligence (EI). The volunteers in an organized group, like other profit oriented employees, require appropriate management. As of the beginning of the 21st century, volunteer program management is only less than 40 years old. The need for good management comes from the fact that volunteering can be costwww.msocialwork.com
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
