Participation in workplace volunteering schemes could reduce an employee’s sickness absences by an average of 0.9 days a year, a report from Pro Bono Economics has found.
This is the equivalent to a 1 per cent reduction in the UK’s total sickness absence days if rolled out to all staff currently without access, the think tank’s report says.
The report, which was produced for the business volunteering charity Pilotlight, says workplace volunteering schemes offer a “potential triple dividend” that could help tackle the total cost of sickness absence to UK employers, which was about £24bn in 2022.
Workplace volunteering, where employers support their staff to participate in volunteering during working hours – can improve employee wellbeing, support higher productivity for employers and help charities to tackle societal problems, the report says.
But between 17 million and 23 million employers do not have access to workplace volunteering opportunities, the report says. If the schemes could be rolled out to these employers, it would offer between 1.5 million and 2.8 million additional people the chance to take part in workplace volunteering.
Citing previous analysis from the think tank, the report says volunteering leads to an increase in life satisfaction of about 0.07 points on a scale of 0 to 10, adding that this is roughly the same wellbeing effect as moving out of an area with sewage odour problems.
It adds that the increased job satisfaction and improved skills developed through workplace volunteering are likely to improve productivity rates, saying that high-skilled individuals who volunteer experience an estimated £2,300 boost in earnings.
If this productivity increase was applied to all employees, then it could provide a gross productivity increase of between £2.2bn and £3.9bn, the report says.
With the costs that implementing these schemes would incur, Pro Bono Economics estimates that “rolling out workplace volunteering to all employees who do not currently have access could deliver a net productivity gain of between £1.6bn and £2.8bn”.
The report says the benefits of workplace volunteering “also have the potential to impact communities”.
It says: “The influx of additional volunteers that would be provided through expanding workplace volunteering opportunities would help social sector organisations to make an even bigger difference to society.”
Three in 10 charities have reported increased rates of staff burnout amid rising demand, difficulties recruiting volunteers and challenges with workforce recruitment, the report says.
This poses a particular challenge for small charities, the report says, noting that nearly six in 10 of these organisations have said that recruiting volunteers is a major concern.
The report says: “An influx of between 1.5 million and 2.8 million additional skilled volunteers could make an enormous difference to these struggling charities. In turn, this would help charities make an even bigger difference to communities.”
But the report argues that it is important to be realistic about the challenges of rolling out workplace volunteering.
“Businesses and other funders will need to consider how they can support the underlying costs of volunteering programmes, rather than if an offer of time alone will suffice,” it says.
The report suggests that employers should develop “genuine partnerships” with charities and local social sector organisations to provide targeted and rewarding volunteer opportunities relevant to their staff’s needs.
Sarah Vibert, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: “Workplace initiatives to encourage volunteering are not only good for employee wellbeing, which in turn is good for employers, but crucially they create an invaluable opportunity for charities to meet the challenges they face recruiting new volunteers.
“To maximise success, the right conditions must exist. Both charities and employers should be mindful of making volunteering opportunities flexible, inclusive and accessible so as many people can give their time as possible.”
This article was updated on 2 May 2024 to include a quote from Sarah Vibert, chief executive of NCVO.