“We will not pay you, but God will remunerate”: the paradox of volunteer transcendental rewards in faith-based organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the slim body of literature on the paradoxes of volunteer management, this study explores how transcendental rewards generate a paradox in faith-based organizations (FBOs). Instead of providing monetary rewards, FBOs promise their volunteers transcendental rewards. Based on four Indonesian FBOs, we introduce this specific paradox by juxtaposing volunteer retention and volunteer rewards management. At the individual level, the logics of both material and transcendental rewards exist side by side. These two different logics also interact at the organizational level between volunteers and managers. In turn, volunteers perceive two contradictory self-images: as sincere or as materialistic persons. Relatedly, FBO practices can be regarded as either nurturing individual spiritual development or are sometimes framed as exploiting the transcendental for material gain. We find that religious volunteers appear to accept the paradox, living with its consequences, and FBOs navigate the paradox as a tool to retain their volunteers.