Wellbeing & Volunteering

by Denise Hayward, CEO, Volunteer Now

Volunteers have a higher life satisfaction and are less lonely than non-volunteers. NISRA has updated the volunteering data to include the wellbeing data collected by the Continuous Household Survey and they published the updated report at the end of March.

Volunteers also had better general health than non-volunteers. Overall, people who volunteered had a greater sense of self-efficacy, which refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to accomplish tasks and achieve goals. Volunteers also felt more in control of their own lives, which leads to better decision making and a more positive outlook on life.

We have long known about the positive impact volunteering has on others, but it is great to have clear evidence that there are positive health and wellbeing benefits for volunteers themselves!