Volunteering benefits Wellbeing through meaningful Public Service... and there are many other benefits it brings about.
As I was preparing to write an article in celebration of this year’s National Volunteer week, the week’s Proclamation message could not have been more serendipitous:
“As those who volunteer know firsthand, service also benefits the volunteer. It can teach important skills, help build professional networks, and provide an empowering sense of purpose. Volunteering brings people together, uniting us around our common belief in the dignity and equality of every person and giving us a chance to learn from others we might otherwise never meet.”
- A Proclamation on National Volunteer Week, 2023, The White House
It is not just what we volunteers know in our hearts, it is also what scientific research has proven time and again – we sometimes receive more than what we give.
A quick Google Scholar search for volunteering benefits returns hundreds of thousands of journal articles, research reports, and many other scholarly pursuits on the topic. This vast body of research is shining a bright light on volunteering providing not only social benefits, but also individual health benefits and better career options as well.
Giving begets receiving, and while in a previous article we explored receiving the gift of wellbeing, today we will look at a more comprehensive list of volunteering benefits.
We’ll start with...
Live Long and Prosper
Hidden in the bowels of the MIT tunnels, somewhere below Building 26, lays the Fountain of Youth.
While my own research on its efficacy is still ongoing, published research has already shown volunteering may also be considered a Fountain of Youth.
Volunteering has been associated with a reduced mortality risk even after adjusting for age, gender, education, baseline mental and physical health, activity level, and social engagement.
Older volunteers in the US experienced a 44% lower mortality rate than those who did not volunteer.
And it’s not just living longer – as the next few benefits will show, it’s also living happier and more fulfilled, both life-wise and career-wise.
Dopamine!
There is something magical about volunteering’s power on the human brain. There's definitely something about focusing one's energy on helping another that triggers those feel-good chemicals that make us feel that helper’s high: dopamine (“rewards”), serotonin (“happiness”), oxytocin (“compassion”), and endorphins (“painkiller”).
93% of active volunteers say that volunteering improves their mood.
These neurotransmitters do more than just boosting our mood; they also hamper the production of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, which leads us to…
Less stress
When we think about helping others, we have an increased propensity for changing perspectives, which combined with cortisol production being inhibited, gives us a feeling of calm.
79% of active volunteers report experiencing lower stress levels.
Perception of Time – volunteering makes us feel we have More Time
The reduction in stress may also occur because in giving our time, we increase our “subjective sense of time affluence, driven by a boosted sense of self-efficacy” (see: Giving Time Gives You Time). In plain English, when we volunteer our time, it makes us feel more efficient, and therefore we are less stressed and hurried, feeling we have more time available.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, considering we all have the same 10,080 minutes in a week, volunteering one’s time stretches the perception of time itself, while at the same time improving time management skills.
86% of active volunteers believe volunteering has helped them learn better time management.
Increase in self-esteem and self-confidence
Volunteering comes with wonderful feelings of accomplishment, pride, and even identity and belonging. Making a positive impact on others and one’s community brings about positive views about oneself and one’s future.
88% of active volunteers note improved self-esteem.
Better mental health
When volunteering, we are never alone; we are constantly connected to the cause and the people we are helping. Whether it’s about the chemicals produced by our brain, or just the overall sense of belonging and purpose, the result is a happier, healthier self.
People who engaged in regular volunteering saw an 8.54% increase in mental well-being and a 4.3% decrease in depression.
Sense of purpose in life
Volunteering gives a sense of direction; we are there for someone or for a cause. We are there to help someone breathe easier, and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded!”
94% of active volunteers report an enriched sense of purpose.
Better physical health
Volunteers were found to be healthier overall than non-volunteers, with one study showing volunteers’ health was comparable to that of peers who were 5 years younger.
75% of active volunteers feel physically healthier.
Volunteering can also lessen symptoms of chronic pain (endorphins!) and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Better heart health
Volunteers with pre-existing heart problems had reduced chest pain, as well as lower cholesterol levels when compared to non-volunteer peers.
Lower blood pressure
This also ties in with better heart health, as well as better brain health since lowering blood pressure also reduces the risk of stroke.
Those who volunteered an average of 200 hours a year, 3-4 hours a week, were 40% less likely to develop high blood pressure, even four years later.
Stronger immune system
The Mother Teresa Effect was named after a study where merely watching a video of Mother Teresa carrying out acts of kindness and compassion caused viewers to produce significantly more secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) than normal, consistent with an immune boost.
Cultivating feelings of care and compassion for just 5 minutes resulted in a 5-hour immune boost, with a 50% increase in s-IgA levels.
Professional and personal development
Volunteering develops transferable skills such as time management, delegation, communications skills, and problem-solving. In a survey of recruiters and hiring managers, volunteering was seen as demonstrating strong accountability and commitment, and helping individuals develop strong character – traits that respondents identified as leadership must-haves.
87% of active volunteers believe volunteering has helped them develop professional skills.
Better job opportunities
How about a resume booster?
Volunteering shows commitment, accountability, and empathy, and the statistics below speak for the power it brings to one’s resume.
Volunteers have a 27% higher likelihood of finding a job after being out of work than non-volunteers.
Hiring Managers and recruiters are 82% more likely to choose a candidate with volunteering experience, and 85% more likely to overlook resume flaws when the candidate’s resume includes volunteer experience.
In the same survey, 80% of respondents agreed that active volunteers are more likely to move into leadership roles.
Being the helper
While Mister Rogers’ “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” quote was meant to soothe children, we can also see it from the point of view of being at a point in our lives where we can be the helpers. Sometimes seen, sometimes unseen, hidden in a classroom at MIT, all kinds of helpers join hands and hearts together in building a better world.
... and in helping someone else attain a better life, our lives change for the better as well.
Sources and more reading
The Five Side Effects of Kindness: This Book Will Make You Feel Better, Be Happier & Live Longer - by David R. Hamilton
Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving - by Stephen Post & Jill Neimark
Volunteering - Potential benefits of volunteering - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteering#Potential_benefits_of_volunteering
The Science of Generosity - Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley for the John Templeton Foundation - https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Generosity-FINAL.pdf
Wellbeing & Happiness: Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits - https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm
Doing good is good for you: Volunteerism contributes to a happier and healthier life - https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/2017/2017_Study-Doing-Good-is-Good-for-You.pdf
19 Healthy Reasons To Help Others - A Healthier Heart And 18 Other Benefits Of Volunteering - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/health-benefits-of-volunteering-helping-others_n_909713
2016 Deloitte Impact Survey - Building leadership skills through volunteerism - https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/us-deloitte-impact-survey.pdf
A Proclamation on National Volunteer Week, 2023 - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/14/a-proclamation-on-national-volunteer-week-2023
Andam, Reza & Ghorbanian Rajabi, Asieh & Benar, Nooshin & Hosseini, Shahoo. (2013). The study of self esteem among volunteer and non volunteer in sport. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences. 4. 286-290.
Ayalon L. Volunteering as a predictor of all-cause mortality: what aspects of volunteering really matter? Int Psychogeriatr. 2008 Oct;20(5):1000-13. | DOI: 10.1017/S1041610208007096
Chu J-T, Koo M. Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem in Older Adults Engaging in Formal Volunteering: A Cross-Sectional Study in Taiwan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(6):4934. | DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20064934
Detollenaere J, Willems S, Baert S. Volunteering, income and health. PLoS One. 2017 Mar 8;12(3):e0173139. | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173139
Inagaki, Tristen K. PhD; Bryne Haltom, Kate E. BA; Suzuki, Shosuke BA; Jevtic, Ivana BA; Hornstein, Erica MA; Bower, Julienne E. PhD; Eisenberger, Naomi I. PhD. The Neurobiology of Giving Versus Receiving Support: The Role of Stress-Related and Social Reward–Related Neural Activity. Psychosomatic Medicine 78(4):p 443-453, May 2016. | DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000302
Lawton, R.N., Gramatki, I., Watt, W. et al. Does Volunteering Make Us Happier, or Are Happier People More Likely to Volunteer? Addressing the Problem of Reverse Causality When Estimating the Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering. J Happiness Stud 22, 599–624 (2021). | DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00242-8
Mogilner, C., Chance, Z., & Norton, M. I. (2012). Giving Time Gives You Time. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1233–1238. | DOI: 10.1177/0956797612442551
Salt E, Crofford LJ, Segerstrom S. The Mediating and Moderating Effect of Volunteering on Pain and Depression, Life Purpose, Well-Being, and Physical Activity. Pain Manag Nurs. 2017 Aug;18(4):243-249. | DOI: 10.1016/j.pmn.2017.04.004
Sneed RS, Cohen S. A prospective study of volunteerism and hypertension risk in older adults. Psychol Aging. 2013 Jun;28(2):578-86. | DOI: 10.1037/a0032718
Yeung JWK, Zhang Z, Kim TY. Volunteering and health benefits in general adults: cumulative effects and forms. BMC Public Health. 2017 Jul 11;18(1):8. | DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4561-8
MIT Slack channel
This article has been linked from an MIT Slack channel where we bring together MIT helpers: #mit-volunteering in the MIT-wide "MIT Enterprise" workspace. As a multi-workspace channel, it can be attached to other MIT workspaces as well. Please contact @monia on Slack if you'd like to also attach it to a specific workspace.
Join us in continuing to build a better world, whether through sharing where volunteers are needed in the MIT community, or though giving an hour of your time to become a helper (and feeling like you've gained back two hours in return, if the research on time perception were to be quantified 
)
Thank you for reading thus far, see you around, and Enjoy!