Understanding Volunteer Work in Statistical Frameworks
Volunteer work is defined as unpaid, non-compulsory work individuals undertake for organizations or directly for others outside their household. The measurement of volunteer work aligns with promoting decent work, encompassing both goods and services produced within and beyond the System of National Accounts (SNA) production boundary. The concept of volunteering in the realm of work covers various labor inputs, including paid employment, self-employment, and productive activities.
- Volunteer work
- Statistical frameworks
- Unpaid labor
- ILO Department of Statistics
- SNA production boundary
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Volunteer work and Draft ICATUS ILO Department of Statistics Sophia Lawrence ICATUS Revision New York, (11-31 June 2012) ILO Department of Statistics
Volunteer work defined Unpaid non-compulsory work; that is, time individuals give without pay to activities performed either through an organization or directly for others outside their own household It is work It is unpaid It is not compulsory It can be done for or through organisations (i.e., market enterprises (corporations or household), government and non- profit institutions), or directly for other households 2 ILO Department of Statistics
Volunteer work measured Current recommendations (Manual & 18th ICLS) Its measurement is consistent with ILO s promotion of decent work: For human dignity, in terms of economic and social development objectives 3 ILO Department of Statistics
Volunteer work and SNA Within the SNA production boundary All volunteer work through organizations ( e.g. teaching in a school, organizing a lottery for the Red Cross, cleaning rivers for an environmental organization) Volunteer work directly for households producing goods for own use (e.g. building homes for homeless, making clothes for children) Beyond the SNA production boundary (inside the General production boundary) Volunteer work directly for households producing services mainly for own final use (e.g. transporting a neighbour to a clinic, keeping company to the sick, preparing meals for the elderly) 4 ILO Department of Statistics
New ILO conceptual framework volunteering in Work statistics 6 ILO Department of Statistics
Volunteering in concept of Work Work comprises all inputs of labour for: Production of goods and services for payment, profit or family gain; Unpaid production of goods and services for consumption by others, ex. as a volunteer or part of a programme of education and training; (problematic) Unpaid production of goods and services for own consumption or by members of own household (ex. subsistence production and household cleaning or child care) 7 ILO Department of Statistics
Bringing all Work in line with SNA ICLS 13th18th SNA 2008 ACTIVITIES Paid employment Self-employment in market enterprises Within Production of goods for own final use Productive Activities Volunteer work in market or non-market enterprises ? Volunteer work in HH to produce goods for own final use ? BeyondVolunteer work in HH to produce services for own final use Unpaid household service work ? Non-productive activities Self-care, study, training, leisure, culture, Begging, stealing (if products are not sold) ? 8 ILO Department of Statistics
Participation in different forms of work Volunteers Producers of goods mainly for own final use Employed Unpaid household service workers 10 ILO Department of Statistics
Problems to capture volunteers in TUS Because volunteering is not a regular or long-lasting activity, it tends to be underestimated in TUS When identified, TU classifications generally do not obtain information about: The activities carried out when volunteering is done through organisations e.g. Red Cross, schools, government 11 ILO Department of Statistics
Solutions to improve TUS measurement Demographic questionnaire Include stylised questions on volunteering: Did you also do any type of unpaid work as a volunteer for an organization or another household in the reference period ? Along with background information: For how long What type of (volunteer) activities ? Time Diary Instructions should give examples of types of volunteering activity (tends to be on/off, seasonal) Even over short periods of time 12 ILO Department of Statistics
TUS context variables Including new variables in the Questionnaire, in addition to prompting, improves results: Context variable "for whom" the activity is carried out: Previous argument against: respondents not sure what to report Latest arguments for (Canada): ex. person reports cooking, shopping, driving, etc. not for own household but for neighbour or relative in another household Without context information, activity will appear as Own production work 13 ILO Department of Statistics
Illustration: Measurement in Time Use Surveys T Demographic Qt: Household Roster & Demographic Characteristics Part I: Participation in all labour force activities -Labour force activities (paid & self-employment in market enterprises) (Unemployment job search activities, duration) n+ W A P Part II: Participation in other forms of Work -Own production of goods what, whom, length -Volunteer work what, whom, length ? -Unpaid trainee work what, whom, length ? -Unpaid hhld service work what, whom, length ? 14
Volunteering in non-TUS (LFS) Measure volunteer work as part of statistics on labour input, based on 1 hour criterion and working time hour bands In the same programme as producers of goods mainly for own final use (and unpaid household services) Use modules to the labour force or other household surveys, with an employment component Cover the working age population Whether persons are working, seeking work or outside the labour force 15 ILO Department of Statistics
Volunteering and ICATUS Volunteer activity should be measured: Both within and beyond the SNA production boundary AND That occurs in NPIs, for all Corporations, for Government Measure these workers (and their characteristics) as part of labour input Classify volunteer activities (43) to as many categories (at least) as community organized services (42) (41) Separate out work resulting in goods vs. services (as for Paid Work activities) therein lies SNA distinction 16 ILO Department of Statistics
