This webinar provides an overview of findings from Phase I & Phase II of the older adult volunteer study.
As the nature of the "retirement years" continues to change in our society, older adults are increasingly occupying productive roles within their families, workplaces, and communities creating the opportunity for conflict for time and energy resources. The volunteer management sector is now faced with a critical task of engaging older adults who are increasingly giving of their time and talents to multiple life endeavors (roles). Specifically, the project utilized a national sample of current RSVP volunteers to examine the extent to which older adult volunteers experience role conflict between their volunteer role and other social roles that they occupy. This exploratory study examined the following research questions: 1) Does role conflict between work, caregiving, and informal helping roles and volunteer roles predict role satisfaction and intention to leave volunteerism among older adults? and 2) What are the compensatory strategies used by older adults to navigate role conflict and what benefits do older adults accrue in their volunteer roles that could effectively counterbalance role conflict?
