Authors

• Kansalaisareena
• Taloustutkimus
• Church Council
• HelsinkiMission

Keywords

labour (resource), private voluntary organizations, voluntary organizations, voluntary work, volunteering

Abstract

This survey studied voluntary activities of Finnish people. The data were collected by Taloustutkimus and the study was commissioned by Kansalaisareena (Citizen Forum), HelsinkiMissio and the Church Council. First, the study charted how many hours the respondents had spent within the previous four weeks on voluntary work in different fields (e.g. social welfare and health care, sports, children and youth, culture, immigrants). Additionally, the study surveyed the type, duration and regularity of the voluntary work as well as whether it was organised by an association/organisation.

The survey also examined the types of tasks included in the voluntary work (e.g. soup kitchen work, fundraising, positions of trust, group instruction, cleaning, providing peer support). The respondents' opinions were charted with regard to a set of attitudinal statements concerning, for example, whether children should be taught voluntary work as part of their education, whether more peer support should be available in health care, and whether the respondents would be interested in trying voluntary work during work time or as part of studies if a possibility was given for this. Some questions also concerned the use of different types of search engines on the Internet designed for finding voluntary work. Reasons for not participating in voluntary activities were also charted.

Background variables included, among others, gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, marital status, household composition, number of children under 18 living at home and their ages, income (respondent and household), education, type of apartment, political party preference, and regional variables such as NUTS3 region, number of inhabitants in R's municipality of residence, and type of the municipality (urban, semi-urban, rural).