HRPYC81 Assignment 42 – Research Report Portfolio.

HRPYC81 Assignment 42 – Research Report Portfolio. AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY ON THE MOTIVATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF VOLUNTEERING WITHIN A SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT. Abstract There is a substantial amount of work that explores the motivation behind volunteer work. This is an important area of study because volunteers usually form the backbone of the running of most Non-Profit and NonGovernment organisations. This study sought to add to existing knowledge on the motivation behind volunteer work. For this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three volunteers from different organisations. This allowed the researcher to document their personal experiences and perceptions of volunteering in a South African context. The interviews were transcribed, and audio taped, with the permission and assistance of the participants. Recurring themes in these case studies were set forth and linked within the literature. The themes explained the motivation for volunteering also exploring the challenges and constraints that comes with volunteerism. Some of the themes were identified through thematic content analysis and are needing to fill the gap in time that retirement results in with meaningful work, religion, the feelings of joy that volunteering elicits, and a genuinely selfless want to help those in need. Others see volunteering as an experience capable of causing positive changes in an individual’s values and lifestyle, which will promote solidarity and raise awareness of ‘development’ issues in South Africa. It can thus be said that motivations vary from the self-centric to altruistic and organisations are relying on the study of participants’ own perspectives to provide insight into their motivations in order to attract and retain them.