Research on the factors influencing individuals to volunteer indicates that the satisfaction they receive from volunteering is an important motivating variable in volunteer retention. Organizations need to know what can be done to make the volunteer's role a satisfying one, and thus minimize turnover. / The overall purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with the satisfaction of volunteers in selected human service organizations. The population for this study consisted of 700 volunteers in three selected human service organizations. These organizations represent a continuum of dependence on volunteers that ranges from almost total dependence on the one extreme, to use of volunteers to supplement the services provided by paid staff on the other extreme. A stratified random sample of 350 active volunteers was drawn from the total active volunteer membership roster of approximately 700 adults from three selected organizations. Data were collected using a mailed survey. / Nine hypotheses were formulated to operationalize the study objectives and to provide the bases for data analysis. Statistical tests of these hypotheses were conducted using chi square, Pearson's correlation coefficient r, and one-way analysis of variance. / Both situational life satisfaction and personal life satisfaction were significantly associated with levels of satisfaction with the volunteer experience. No differences were found in the levels of satisfaction of volunteers in the three organizations that were studied, but differences were found in the number of years served as a volunteer. Also, differences were found between organizations in six of the seven demographic characteristics that were studied. It was concluded that (a) satisfaction with the volunteer experience is largely a consequence of individual personal and life satisfaction, and (b) retention, as measured by number of years served in an organization, is influenced by many factors other than satisfaction. These factors likely include personal predispositions and characteristics, and task and organizationally related influences. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-09, Section: A, page: 2222. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76157 |
| Contributors | KRAVITZ, ANN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 193 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds