As the risks associated with growing labor market deregulation and flexibility are increasingly shifted towards individuals, an increasing number of people are likely to experience unemployment, which can result in declining mental health and well-being. This Third Sector Impact (TSI) working paper asks whether voluntary work can reduce the negative effects of unemployment on well-being. Drawing upon Latent Deprivation Theory, the Agency Restriction Approach and Beck’s vision of civil labor in multi-activity society, this article also examines the extent to which voluntary work and the unemployment benefits of countries can compensate for the loss in manifest and latent benefits associated with paid work and thus improve unemployed individuals’ well-being and mental health. The paper is available for download here.
[TSI]