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Working for Nothing and Being Happy. The Determinants of the Satisfaction of Volunteers and Paid Workers

In: Paid and Unpaid Labour in the Social Economy. An International Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Miriam Michelutti

    (Università di Udine)

  • Marina Schenkel

    (Università di Udine)

Abstract

This essay attempts to understand the factors determining the satisfaction that volunteers derive from their own activity, and then to compare them with those determining the satisfaction of paid workers. The novelty of this approach is that volunteers and paid workers are compared in the same data-set (from Italy), using the same measure of the rewards and reported satisfaction for both types of workers. The main findings are that volunteers are individuals who perform an activity which gives them satisfaction for a number of different reasons, and that, while the determinants of satisfaction are not exactly the same for volunteers and paid workers, both of them attach special consideration to the users’ well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Miriam Michelutti & Marina Schenkel, 2009. "Working for Nothing and Being Happy. The Determinants of the Satisfaction of Volunteers and Paid Workers," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Marco Musella & Sergio Destefanis (ed.), Paid and Unpaid Labour in the Social Economy. An International Perspective, edition 1, chapter 6, pages 81-95, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    • Handle: RePEc:ail:chapts:03-06
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    File URL: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-7908-2137-6_6
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Fedele & Raffaele Miniaci & Ermanno Tortia, 2022. "Strong client orientation, little leverage in nonprofit firms?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 541-563, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    voluntary work; job satisfaction; worker incentives.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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