Happy Volunteers

The young volunteers at the Zoey Foundation for Arts and Culture in Amsterdam think it is crucial that people are active in order to make a difference in society.

“What I find so interesting with the Zoey projects is the social commitment. People can’t complain and say the government doesn’t do enough, because it has to come from themselves. This idea motivated me a lot to participate in the projects,” says Lisa van Midde (24), who has been volunteering at Zoey for a year.

“In the Dutch culture it is very important to have a good network. During your studies there is an emphasis on building networks, and it is common to meet new people and find jobs through connections as well,” van Midde says.

“We know there is a strong correlation between happiness and volunteering, both at society level and individual level. In societies where volunteering is common the average citizen is happier than in other societies, even if he doesn’t volunteer himself,” explains Professor Ruut Veenhoven at Erasmus Rotterdam University in the Netherlands. Veenhoven is a renowned researcher of happiness and subjective wellbeing and the director of the The World Database of Happiness. The database contains both statistical material and a large amount of literature on the subject of happiness. Veenhoven is also the founding director of “The Journal of Happiness Studies”.

On an individual level happiness and volunteering are interlinked. The question is whether people become happier from volunteering or if happier people are more inclined to devote their time for the benefit of others? Both are true, according to Veenhoven. “The effect of happiness on volunteering is somewhat stronger than vice versa on an individual level. We also know that happines fosters non-organisational social relations as well, such as contact with friends and family,” he states.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE MORE IMPORTANT

Voluntary work adds to happiness in several ways. It generates additional social contact, but also enhances the chances of generating contact beyond the network of volunteers because it improves social skills. Like all animals, humans need food and shelter and, like other social animals, people also need contact with each other.

“Your social intelligence is far more important to your happiness than school intelligence. If you are socially clumsy there is a risk you could spend too much of your life in front of the television. People who volunteer also learn about the democracy perspective: you can learn how to interact with others, build your own networks and contribute in wider decision-making, which adds to happiness,” the professor states.

Natalie Kramer (23) is a volunteer in a new Zoey project called RauW, which will compare the different cultures of young people in neighbourhoods in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

“For me it is important to be actively involved and not just sit behind a computer. I want to connect with the youngsters,” Kramer says. She is now going to a neighbourhood centre to observe what the kids are doing and to get to know them before the new project begins after the summer.

“The volunteers are very good at this; they have great social skills,” Zoey-founder Katerina Pejoska confirms. “Zoey always tries to link youngsters to youngsters. The kids are very sensitive to authority, so this approach makes it easier to reach them.”

GOOD CHOICES CREATE HAPPINESS

The Dutch has one of the highest rates of volunteer work hours in the world, compared to the size of its population. What makes them so eager to give up their time for others?

“There is a strong tradition of participation and citizenship in the Netherlands. People don’t wait for their government to solve their problems; they want to fix it themselves. This is typical for egalitarian and individualised societies,” Veenhoven says. The conclusion of one of Veenhoven’s main publications, “Quality-of-life in individualistic society: A comparison of 43 nations in the early 1990s”, is that individualised societies are happier than collectivist societies.

One of the benefits of individualised societies is that you have more choice. These choices concern what kind of people you socialise with, your life partner, your job and whether you want to have children or not. If you are good at making conscious choices, you have a better chance of being happy. “In collectivist societies, such as Japan, your family has a huge impact on your choices. You are not free to select your partner. If there is a very strong dominant family network you are also less free to join groups and participate in organisations, and there is also less time to invest in these activities.

OPTIMISTIC VOLUNTEERS

According to researchers such as Robert D. Putnam and Bo Rothstein, trusting societies are happier. They are recognised by their large volunteering sectors, such as the Netherlands. Some research also concludes that volunteers are more trusting and confident than others.

“Happiness makes people more active and sociable, open and trusting. A lot of volunteers are people who have many obligations with work and family, but they still volunteer because they are pretty active. They spend less time pondering about their misery, are more optimistic and can therefore use their energy more efficiently. On the other hand, volunteering requires time and involves more time pressure. Still, the available follow-up studies suggest that it
adds a bit to happiness,” Veenhoven says.

 

Next article: Postponing the Total Collapse