Helping others and helping yourself

There are some employers and managers who can have a miserly attitude towards employees. There are those who frown upon any extra curricular activities, or even have rigid employment contracts that forbid additional employment or even voluntary extra-curricular activities.

Now it is my opinion that employment contracts and structures should require declaration of ANY additional employment, or even voluntary activities that could impinge on the employee’s work commitment or create a conflict of interest. This should apply even to casual or part time positions as there can be unforeseen implications, so a declaration of commitments (and that may be all that is needed, a simple declaration) outside of the employer is reasonable.

BUT outside commitments such as voluntary work CAN be a good thing for all concerned. They should be not only welcomed by employers, but even encouraged.

The employer (or manager) who denies the opportunity for their employee to be involved in activities outside of their regular job, can lose a great deal. Job satisfaction and self fulfillment has long been identified as strong motivators in employment. Whilst every employer should seek to provide these motivators wherever possible, outside activities can also supplement to some extent.

Volunteer activities can also provide additional training and personal development that the employer doesn’t have to fund. Any individual who is involved in any form of volunteering work is likely to benefit from gaining new skills. Whether it be the volunteer SES[i], CFA[ii] or on a Not For Profit board (NFP), you can guarantee that some new skills will be gained.

The employer that sees any outside activity merely as time or mental capacity taken from an individual’s prime employment misses the point. Just like any resource, there will be times when an employee’s absence might be felt more than others (such as in times of crisis when they are more likely to be needed and away), but that is the point of managing - understanding the bigger picture, enriching resources to enable them to be spread further and allocating resources appropriately to ride through the leaner years as well as the fatter ones. Good management means knowing how to hold on to your resources and assets in such a way that you are not constraining or strangling them, but that they continue to be available for use in the immediate and the future (exploitation / exploration).

Reputational risk is too often understated and should be given higher prominence in executive and board room discussions. Goodwill is a resource that should also be managed, as it has a direct influence on reputational risk. Allowing staff to be involved in other activities not only enriches the reputation of organisations, but it also creates extra goodwill amongst the community as well as staff. But these are not the only benefits, Staff can receive so many more skills, at whatever level they may be volunteering whether it be a crisis organisation, or a board.

Not For Profit boards rarely offer remuneration, but all NFP’s should have a budget line that allows for board development and expenses. A word to NFP’s here now, don’t be too miserly in your spending on board development. Your free director who gives up so much valuable time is likely to have had to either do battle with an employer, or heavily negotiate with staff or clients to enable their absence. They offer valuable insights shared from their other life experiences which hone their strategic thinking and understanding of the nuances of business and risk management. NFP’s should ensure their board members are equipped for the important tasks of crisis management, CEO succession and black swan events, as well as overall governance of your organisation.

For employers who allow their staff to work on boards, the skills they have gained are likely to not only bring benefits to their organisation by having their understanding increased, but they are also likely to gain fulfilment from being involved in another organisation that stretches them. Having our worldview enlarged also helps to increase our tolerance of ‘other ways of doing things’. It also helps us to see the pettiness in some perceived problems as we learn to ‘not sweat the small stuff’.

Not only should employees be allowed to volunteer in other organisations (as long as their involvement is declared if there is the potential of conflicts of interests) they should be enabled.

It is my opinion that every employee should be allowed 1 to 5 days a year to carry out volunteer work. Organisations could partner with a local welfare, animal, natural disaster or other not for profit organisation and have an annual volunteering day IF employees currently have no links with any volunteer organisations.

Staff who are fulfilled and satisfied are more likely to remain in their current employment, even if the satisfaction comes from outside of their 9 to 5 jo b. Satisfaction specifically with their employer is likely to increase even more if that employer enables extracurricular activities that are meaningful and fulfilling for the employee.

More importantly, everyone benefits from seeing the bigger picture rather than fixating on their own circumstances. Extracurricular activities help people become more adaptable and able to understand situations better. Real benefits can exist for the volunteer organisation, the employee and the employer.

[i] Many states have an SES, here is the link for SES NSW https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/get-involved/volunteer/unit-volunteers/

[ii] There are many outlets for natural disaster volunteering here is a link for CFA Vic https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteers-careers/volunteer-with-cfa