Corporate volunteering – more than 'good for goodness sake'. Nishat Babu on benefits for employer and employee.

I recently read a news article in the Great Birmingham Chambers of Commerce in which an individual described how volunteering during the Covid-19 pandemic had ‘saved her life’, raising her feelings of self-esteem and confidence, and overcoming her feelings of loneliness as a result of the isolation. As someone who works within the area of social responsibility (volunteering being subsumed within this), this came as no surprise to me. Although volunteering is often considered as a charitable and altruistic activity, researchers have demonstrated the clear benefits for the volunteer themselves. And it is not just volunteering in one’s personal time that can be beneficial – volunteering through work (so called corporate volunteering) has been particularly viewed as being worthwhile.