Volunteering With Benefits
Savvy people have learned that they are used more intelligently when they are paid
Paid volunteerism. The phrase may sound oxymoronic, but an ever-growing number of retirees and nonprofit executives say it is an apt description of the way modern retirees view nonprofit work. And while no one has gathered statistics on the tendency, experts say there is a good chance that the automatic link between doing good and working for nothing has been permanently severed. “People used to say, ‘Here I am, what do you need done?’ ” said Deborah Russell, director of work-force issues for AARP. “Today’s retirees say, ‘Here’s what I do well, how can you use it, and what will you pay?’ ”
Economists, behavioral scientists and gerontologists point to multiple reasons behind the switch. For some retirees, economics ranks high on the list. People expect to live for many decades beyond retirement. Many started their families late, which means they may be financially responsible for children as well as aging parents. They may not want to continue full-time work at high-pressure jobs, and for many, unpaid volunteerism is simply not practical.
Even the wealthiest retirees insist on being paid for doing good. Savvy people have learned that they are used more intelligently when they are paid. Nonprofit executives say the reverse is also true: people who are paid work harder and seem more committed to their jobs.
Private-sector employers are learning to harness that kind of attitude to their own philanthropy. I.B.M., for one, just started a program to retrain some of its retirees to teach math and science in public schools.
