Career news

Getting paid to volunteer
by Elizabeth Fenech, 11 July 2008

Today’s workers are increasingly concerned about environmental and social issues and are no longer willing to leave their values at the office door. Employers are taking notice of this trend and, in keeping with the new buzz term ‘corporate social responsibility’ more and more companies are adopting policies for corporate volunteering.

Volunteer work no longer involves just physical labour, like building schools and planting trees. The introduction of corporate volunteering means that companies pay for their employees to supply their professional skills to the not-for-profit or overseas job market. This means that workers can retain the security of a salary while making a worthwhile contribution to society.

For workers, a corporate volunteering position means putting their knowledge to use in practical situations, acquiring experience in a diverse range of environments and demonstrating to present and future employers that they are willing to take the initiative and have well-developed leadership skills.

Organisations like the Body Shop, IBM and Lend Lease are getting plenty of bang for their buck. In paying their employees to contribute their skills to other organisations, they up their company’s status in the corporate social responsibility stakes, which has lots of pulling power, particularly when recruiting new employees. Also, companies have the added benefit of employees who return from their postings with valuable experiences and new ideas that could be applied to the company.

Corporate volunteering is about combining careers and social values. At the end of the day, which do you believe will leave the mark that you can be proud of?


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