Satisfaction and change: A survey of volunteers in a hospice organisation

Volunteers and their voluntary work play an important role within the 'mixed economy' of health and welfare provision in the U.K. A survey of volunteers working in a hospice organisation in Leicestershire (LOROS) found that most of them were satisfied with their work experiences as volunteers, and felt that they were adequately supported and valued by the organisation and its paid staff. They had become volunteers mainly through contact with friends, and a substantial minority were motivated by their own personal experiences of death. Their contact with dying patients did not cause them any serious emotional difficulties. LOROS has grown from a small, tightly focused organisation, dependent on a relatively small group of committed volunteers, to a much larger, busier, more diverse and geographically dispersed organisation, dependent upon a large pool of volunteers. These changes in the organisation had affected the way in which some volunteers experienced their work, and although they were supportive of the expansion of the organisation their sense of intimacy and belonging had lessened. Given the increasing competition for voluntary workers, the sensitive management of change is seen as vital if LOROS is to maintain the commitment of its volunteers and maintain its attractiveness as an organisation which should be supported by voluntary work.