Hindering the Help: Politics and Engagement in Volunteer Service Organizations

Many non-profit service organizations depend heavily on volunteers' time and efforts in accomplishing their missions. These volunteers are often treated like employees in that they are recruited, assigned responsibilities, and charged with carrying out the mission of the organization, but research on their job attitudes and experiences is lacking. In two independent samples, engagement and perceptions of organizational politics were significant predictors of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions in volunteer service organizations. For two of the three attitudes, political perceptions hindered the positive relationship between engagement and the attitudes. The positive benefits of engagement notwithstanding, a highly politicized environment can negate the impact of an engaged volunteer workforce in the prediction of important job attitudes.