Volunteering and Creation of Social Capital

Civilno društvo, neprofitna i nevladina organizacija kojoj je cilj promicanje demokratičnosti u društvu, važno je za jačanje socijalne kohezije i socijalnog kapitala u društvu. Civilno se društvo temelji na vrlinama i djelovanju drugih za opće dobro pa se stoga civilno društvo i povezuje sa socijalnim kapitalom koje se definira kao obilježje društva kojeg čine povjerenje, norme i vrednote koje mogu povećati društvenu učinkovitost i poboljšati odnose između ljudi. Jedan od važnih aktera civilnog društva je i obavljanje volonterskog rada. Volonterski rad kakvog danas poznajemo nije postojao do Drugog svjetskog rata, no postojale su razne humanitarne organizacije za pomoć ranjenima i stradalima u ratu što se smatralo volonterskim radom, a formiranjem samostalne Republike Hrvatske formira se civilno društvo, a samim time i volonterstvo. Volontiranje se definira kao djelovanje za opće dobro i čin odvajanja slobodnoga vremena i pomaganja drugima bez očekivanja materijalne ili bilo kakve druge naknade te bi se trebao temeljiti na vlastitoj motiviranosti za rad i altruističnim motivima. Dakle, volontiranje je značajan alat za stjecanje iskustva, znanja i temeljnih kompetencija za cijeli život, no, nažalost, u Hrvatskoj još uvijek nedovoljno prepoznato. Nakon analize dostupne stručne literature, slijedi analiza i prikaz rezultata provedenog anketnog istraživanja kojemu je cilj bio potvrditi ili opovrgnuti unaprijed zadane hipoteze. Glavni je cilj anketnog istraživanja bio uvrditi koliki utjecaj volonterski rad ima na razinu generaliziranog povjerenja u ljude. Drugim riječima, potvrditi ili odbaciti hipoteze koje istražuju utječe li volonterski rad na pojedince na način da zbog obavljanja volonterskog rada više vjeruju drugim ljudima. Isto tako, istražiti utječe li bavljenje volonterskim radom na percepciju generaliziranog povjerenja u društvu.Civil society, a non-profit and non-governmental organization whose goal is to promote democracy in society, is important for strengthening social cohesion and social capital in society. Civil society is based on the virtues and activities of others for the common good, and hence civil society is associated with social capital that is defined as a characteristic of a society made up of trust, norms and values that can increase social efficiency and improve relationships between people. One of the important factors of civil society is also volunteering. The volunteer work we know today did not exist until the Second World War, but there were various humanitarian organizations for helping the wounded and victims which was considered as volunteering, and by the formation of the independent Republic of Croatia, a civil society is formed, and thus volunteering. Volunteering is defined as acting for the common good and the act of separating free time and helping others without expecting material or any other compensation and should be based on their own motivation for work and altruistic motives. Thus, volunteering is a significant tool for gaining experience, knowledge and core competences for life, but, unfortunately, in Croatia it is still not sufficiently recognized. After analyzing the available literature, follows the analysis and the presentation of the results of the conducted survey research whose aim was to confirm or reject predetermined hypotheses. The main objective of the survey was to determine the impact that volunteer work has on the level of generalized trust in people. In other words, to confirm or reject the hypotheses investigating whether volunteering affects individuals in a way that they trust people more for doing volunteer work. As well, investigate whether volunteering affects the perception of generalized trust in society