The Work-Volunteer Balance

When you’re working full-time, or even part-time, taking on a volunteer gig can make it easy to feel unpleasantly torn between two groups that you care about and two managers you want to help as much as possible. Volunteers need only take a deep breath and remember this: most managers at your place of work and at nonprofits understand.

Many corporate managers and supervisors want people to have lives off the clock, and they understand that volunteering is an enriching experience that will often improve employee morale. Employers are also increasingly encouraged to provide employees with flexibility and even dedicated volunteer days. Volunteering has become a widely embraced part of the corporate culture, and your boss may be more accomodating than you expect.

On the other hand, volunteer coordinators are used to work crises coming up and often take them in stride. They know that you’re already donating your time on top of your career. They’re grateful for that alone and more likely than not they’ll understand when you need to duck out early or take a day off. But, volunteer coordinators say, it’s all about balance.

“Your life will intervene and disrupt the schedule occasionally. In those instances it’s important to let your liaison know as expeditiously as possible,” says Domus Director of Volunteers Julia Wade. “That being said, your volunteer commitment cannot always be the thing that has to change.You should think of the activity with the child/youth/class/student as one of the most important relationships in your life, along with family, work and faith.”

When you find yourself juggling more than you can handle, keep these tips in mind:

• If you decide to take on a volunteer position, let your office manager or supervisor know. You could even parlay this into volunteer efforts for the whole office!

• If you need to adjust your volunteer hours for work, let your volunteer coordinator know as early as possible. They’ll appreciate the early notice and will have more time to find other people to fill in.

• See if you can find someone to cover for you in either situation. Ask your office mate to pick up your workload so you don’t fall behind, or have a friend fill in for your volunteering shift.

• If you can anticipate possible big work crunches during a particular month or season, let your volunteer coordinator know.

You can have multiple passions as long as you find enough time for them. Julia’s words are to “think about those things that make you happy and find an agency and an activity that meets the three criteria—availability, interests/passions, and who/what is served.”

To learn more about volunteer needs in our region of Connecticut head over to VolunteerSquare.com and be sure to sign up for our free e-alerts.