COVID-19 has had a profound impact on many things, from travel to entertainment.  New research from the University of Basel explores the impact the pandemic has had on how we volunteer.  Around the world, the early stages of the pandemic were typified by thousands of people volunteering to help with the pandemic, whether through offering to collect shopping or call up lonely people.

These people often put themselves into harm’s way of the virus in order to help out those in need.  The research shows that digital platforms have been crucial in attracting, mobilizing, and engaging those volunteers, even over the longer-term.  Such platforms played a crucial role in matching volunteers with those in need.

High supply

Across all of the volunteering platforms assessed by the researchers, the supply of help far exceeded the demand for it.  The most effective of these platforms were able to provide information on health and safety for volunteers as they go about their work, while also effectively channeling the volunteers to those who need help so as to reduce unrealistic expectations.  This helped to boost the satisfaction of each volunteer.

Interestingly, the satisfaction of volunteers rose in conjunction with their level of fear of catching the virus.  The researchers suggest that this might be because the volunteering boosted their self-confidence, even more, when they thought themselves to be at greater risk.

“Greater satisfaction gained from spontaneous volunteering means people are more willing to commit to long-term volunteering opportunities at a later stage,” the researchers explain. “Volunteer work is immensely important for our society – not only in times of crisis.”

The researchers highlight the importance of long-term commitment in many areas of society, such as in health and social services, as well as in cultural activities and youth work. According to the most recent survey, 665 million hours of volunteer work were completed in Switzerland in 2013, while paid work in the entire health and social services sector amounted to 853 million hours.