The great (volunteer) resignation: An evidence-based strategy for retaining volunteers

<p dir="ltr">The volunteering sector globally is experiencing a significant and unprecedented decline in volunteer numbers, the seriousness of which cannot be overstated. From 2018 to 2021, 44 per cent of the global volunteer workforce stopped volunteering. This is a loss equivalent to 48 million full time volunteers in just a four-year period. In Australia, the steady decline in volunteering over the past 15 years has been further exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and covid-related restrictions and lockdowns that followed.6 In 2020 the percentage of Australians who volunteered for an organisation or group (25 per cent) was not only lower than in 2019 (30 per cent), but also the lowest rate ever recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.</p><p dir="ltr">Implementing an effective and evidence-based strategy for retaining volunteer workers will be a vital part of strategies to ensure the future sustainability of the Australian volunteer sector, so it can continue to deliver critical services to the community. Such strategies require a clear understanding of the reasons underlying volunteer turnover.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p>