The motivation of volunteers

Volunteers play a crucial role in contributing to the nation’s economy. The media has helped to underscore the successful roles played by volunteers in national sporting competitions such as the Sydney Olympics and Melbourne Commonwealth Games. However, a larger contribution of volunteers to everyday Australian organisations goes relatively unnoticed and understudied, especially with respect to the motivation of volunteer workers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has estimated that in the year 2000, volunteers contributed 704.1 million hours of voluntary work. What are the individual drivers that sustain this effort made continuously in Australian organisations? This paper focuses on exploring the drivers of motivation among volunteers in Australian Surf Life Saving.