Impact of volunteerism on personal beliefs and professional practices reflecting organizational mission among employees of a large health system

The mission of non-profit health systems often includes caring for patients as well as improving the health of the community. According to organizational culture theory, it is essential that employees agree with the value of organizational goals and the practices required to reach them. One way to develop such buy-in is to encourage healthcare workers to take advantage of personal and professional development opportunities that focus on equity, empowerment, and sustainability of good health. Such opportunities often come in the form of volunteer experiences.

For this research, focus groups were conducted with employees of a large health system to assess whether volunteering impacted personal beliefs and professional practices that reflected the organizational mission. Discussions were recorded and transcripts were coded using constant comparison analysis to identify key themes.

Results showed that employee volunteer experiences could systematically be positioned relative to the organizational mission of a non-profit health system. Additional investigations are needed to clarify the relationship between what makes a person volunteer and the impact of volunteering. Future studies should aim to identify quantitative indicators that best operationalize employee behaviors consistent with the organizational mission of a non-profit health system. 

These findings support the development of organizational policies that promote volunteering among employees because of the impact it has on personal beliefs, professional practices, and the ability to fulfill the organizational mission. This work also has the potential to lay the foundation for policies in professional preparation and continuing education of health care workers related to volunteering.