In the OECD bi-annual statistical report How’s Life?, describing the essential ingredients that shape people’s well-being in OECD and partner countries, one chapter analyses the importance and features of voluntary work – i.e. the time devoted to unpaid non-compulsory activities whose concern is the common good. The study suggests that volunteering produces benefits not only for the beneficiaries but also for the volunteers themselves: volunteering helps people to acquire skills and knowledge that may enhance career development or employment prospects, and is also associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and positive moods. Moreover, volunteering is beneficial to society at large and plays an important economic role. The lack of standard definition and of comparable data makes it difficult to paint a definite picture of the level and extent of volunteer work in the OECD area; the main steps to be implemented in order to improve the measurement of volunteering are discussed. The report is available to download here.
Source: OECD
