Abstract
Generation Z (Gen Z), the future of America’s workforce, is forecasted to represent more than 30 million persons by 2020. Volunteer rates have been declining since 2002. Most compelling is that overall lowest volunteer rates were found to be within the Gen Z segment, with expectations of continued decline. Thus, this study explored motivations associated with sustainable volunteering by Gen Z based upon past research that documented intent to volunteer is strongly associated with age. In doing so, the Volunteer Functions Inventory was adopted to identify Gen Z motivations for volunteering. This study then employed the theory of planned behavior to test the relationships between Gen Z volunteering motivations, their attitudes and job performance using data obtained from 306 Gen Z volunteer special event participants. Among five motives identified to be important to Gen Z, only four motives (“value”, “career”, “learning” and “self-esteem”) were found to significantly influence their attitudes. The ‘social’ motive was found to have no significant effect on their attitudes towards volunteering. This research framework was supported by validating the significant relationships between volunteer motivations, attitudes and job performance specific to the Gen Z volunteer segment. “Job training appropriateness” was found to be an important moderator for improving the relationships between Gen Z volunteer attitudes and job performance.
Highlights
Volunteering significantly contributes to global economies and has tremendous potential to solve economic, environmental and social problems [1]
This study assumes Generation Z (Gen Z) will soon begin to represent a great supply source for future volunteers. These findings reported that only 26% of the Gen Z segment, indicating they had a high interest in volunteering currently participate in those opportunities to do so, compared with those Generation Y (Gen Y) individuals expressing a high interest in volunteering, where the participation rate has achieved an enviable 73% involvement rate [9]
Clary and Snyder (1991) assessed volunteering motivations by adopting the functional approach to volunteering motivations which change or form individuals’ attitudes and further lead them to engage in certain activities [28]. This functional approach is based upon the premise that volunteering may reflect quiet different underlying motivational processes, manifesting the functions served by volunteering in a form of a voluntary helping behavior. Based upon this functional concept, Clary et al (1999) organized various volunteering motivational aspects into an integrated form called the “Volunteer Functions Inventions” (VFI) that includes multiple factors represented by values, career, learning, self-esteem and social dimensions, which could be pursued by performing volunteering activities [29]
Summary
Volunteering significantly contributes to global economies and has tremendous potential to solve economic, environmental and social problems [1]. One study addressing expectations in the global workplace for both Gen Y, born between 1977 and 1994, and Gen Z, found Gen Z to have a higher level of entrepreneurial spirit (17%) than Gen Y (11%) and to be very interested in volunteering in order to obtain relevant knowledge and skills for refining future career objectives [8] Based upon these findings, this study assumes Gen Z will soon begin to represent a great supply source for future volunteers. In consideration of Gen Z’s low participation rate for volunteering compared with their high level of intent for doing so, this study’s attempt to identify salient motives associated with this age group’s volunteering behavior is deemed critical in order to better understand this phenomenon and what the Gen Z market segment may hold for the future regarding the sustainability of volunteering. This study expects to discover that potential resource opportunities representing the two factors of ‘volunteer job training appropriateness’ and ‘team cohesiveness’, can play significant moderating roles for enhancing positive relationships between Gen Z’s attitudes toward volunteering and their job performance
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