Turnover among Older Adult Volunteers

Purpose: Volunteerism is on the rise among older adults in the United States. As baby boomers age, there will be a great potential for volunteering to tackle some of the most troubling problems faced by the community. However, volunteer turnover is costly to the organizations and placement sites and may be detrimental to the people served and even the older adult volunteers themselves. The key question is how to keep older volunteers for a long time because stability is one of the main definitive features of volunteerism. This study aims to investigate what factors are predictive of turnover among older adult volunteers.

Methods: Using a two-wave study on older adults' volunteer experience, we examined what individual and institutional factors were related to turnover among older volunteers. We solicited 291 older volunteers aged 60 and over from 10 volunteer programs between September and December 2005. Program directors provided the information about program characteristics via telephone interviews. Volunteers provided information about their volunteer experience and demographics. During the second wave of data collection between September and December 2006, we asked whether respondents were still volunteering in the designated program, the reasons for terminating volunteer activity, health status, and perceived benefits from volunteering. We collected 207 completed surveys with a response rate of 82%. Data from both sources were merged to address the study questions through generalized estimating equations (GEE).

Results: About 23% (48) of 207 respondents terminated volunteering in the past year, who were called past volunteers. Compared with current volunteers, past volunteers reported lower levels of family income and mental health status, and perceived fewer benefits from volunteering. Past volunteers also reported fewer volunteer hours in the past year, and were more likely to volunteer in tutoring or mentoring programs. GEE analyses indicated that older adults with a lower level of income, with less volunteer time commitment, and in poor health status were likely to terminate volunteering. Adequacy of on-going support from the volunteer program was associated with the likelihood of continuing volunteer activity. Some aspects of volunteer experience, like being engaged in mentoring/tutoring and skilled assistance/technical advice programs, and provision of more choice in setting one's own schedule and types of activity were related to the likelihood of turnover. Stipend provided by the program was related to the likelihood of volunteering continuation.

Implications: Non-profits, faith-based organizations, and government agencies are faced with unprecedented opportunities to use older adult volunteers as baby boomers enter into retirement. How these organizations facilitate older adults in their role performance will determine to some extent how long older adult volunteers devote to these programs. This study demonstrates the importance of stipend and on-going support in promoting volunteerism in the population aged 60 and older. It is important for social workers who are involved in volunteer administration to develop strategies to retain and support older adult volunteers.