Alleviating Negative Effects of Demands to Retain Volunteers

Although nonprofit organization (NPOs) have experienced a 25% growth rate within the last decade (Urban Institute, 2014), the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports volunteering rates are the lowest since 2002 and are continuing to decline (2014). Davis, Hall and Meyer (2003) recounted that after a twelve-month period, almost three-quarters of new volunteers terminated their service activities. Furthermore, in 2012, volunteer attrition across the United States averaged a shocking 34% (CNCS, 2013). Voluntary turnover, or deliberate separation initiated by the worker (BLS, 2014), is a detrimental organizational outcome that burdens NPOs (Garner & Garner, 2011). Intentions to quit are one of the most examined precursors of voluntary turnover (Clegg, 1983;); thus, it is valuable to understand what vitiates volunteer engagement and accelerates intentions to quit (Hom & Griffith, 1991; Jaros, 1997). The purpose of this research is to investigate how to disparage volunteers’ intentions to quit (VIQ), the willful extent to which a volunteer intends to discontinue service for his or her NPO in the near future (Tett & Meyer, 1993; Kim, Price, Muller & Watson, 1996), using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a supporting theoretical framework (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Specifically, I seek to identify variations in volunteer burnout and VIQ that are attributed to different types of demands. Further, I hope to determine how effective communication may mitigate demands leading to burnout and VIQ. Ultimately, this type of research may help to identify feasible management practices that NPOs can implement to reduce VIQ and increase volunteer retention