20 Economic and social situation of the population 426-1100 Volunteering in Switzerland 2010 Neuchâtel, 2011
Impressum Editor: Enquiries: Federal Statistical Office (FSO) Jacqueline Schön-Bühlmann, FSO, Tel. +41 (0) 32 713 64 18 jacqueline.schoen-buehlmann@bfs.admin.ch Graphic/Layout: DIAM Section, Prepress/Print Translation: Languages: Topic: Cover page: Language Services FSO Original version in German, available in French, Italian and English 20 Economic and social situation of the population FSO: concept Netthoevel & Gaberthüel, Bienne Photo: mninni Fotalia.com Distributed by: FSO, 2010 Neuchâtel, tel. +41 (0) 32 713 60 60, fax +41 (0) 32 713 60 61, order@bfs.admin.ch Order number: 426-1100, free, Neuchâtel 2011
List of contents Extent of volunteering in Switzerland... 4 Where does formal volunteering occur?... 6 Who is involved in formal volunteering?... 7 Motivations and recruitment potential... 8 Membership and voluntary activities... 10 Where does informal volunteering occur?... 12 Who is involved in informal volunteering?... 13 Regional differences in volunteering... 14 Charitable donations... 16 The eight types of volunteers... 18 3
Extent of volunteering in Switzerland Around 33% of the resident population in Switzerland age 15 and older was involved in at least one form of formal or informal voluntary work in 2010. One in five people performed an unpaid activity within an organisation or institution, which amounts to around 1.3 million people. Men were more actively involved in this formal context than women (23.0% vs. 16.9%). In addition to formal volunteering, there are also informal, unpaid activities for other households such as helping neighbours, looking after children, or providing services and assistance to relatives and friends. The level of commitment to informal volunteering is also high: 18.4% of the resident population or around 1.2 million people provided unpaid service and assistance. Women were more active than men in this informal context: 22.7% vs. 13.9%. Time spent doing voluntary work Average number of hours per person and month Hours per month Formal voluntary work 20 15 13.7 13.1 14.2 10 5 0 Volunteers 2.6 2.1 3.1 Resident population Hours per month Informal voluntary work 20 15.5 17.5 15 12.2 10 5 0 Volunteers Total Women Men 2.7 3.7 1.6 Resident population Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 4
Extent of volunteering in Switzerland On average, the total resident population age 15 and older spent 2.6 hours a month doing unpaid work in associations and organisations and 2.7 hours helping neighbours and providing other forms of assistance. These people who are actively involved in voluntary work are, on average, spending nearly half a workday per week volunteering: 13.7 hours per month for formal and 15.5 hours for informal voluntary work. In total, 640 million hours were spent on volunteering in 2010, with nearly equal emphasis on formal and informal volunteering. To put this sum in perspective, 755 million hours of paid work were carried out in the entire healthcare and social sectors in 2008. 1 Data sources: The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has been gathering data since 1997 on voluntary work every three to four years as part of the Unpaid Work module in the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS). The survey takes both formal and informal commitments into account. The current figures come from 2010 and refer to the resident population age 15 and older in Switzerland. 2 Furthermore, results from the Swiss Non-Profit Society (SGG) Swiss Volunteering Survey for 2009 are also presented. This survey includes, for example, detailed information on the motivations for volunteering, recruitment potential and charitable donations by the resident population in Switzerland age 15 and older. 3 1 See Ueli Schiess and Jacqueline Schön-Bühlmann: Satellitenkonto Haushaltsproduktion (Household production satellite account). Pilot for Switzerland. FSO, Neuchâtel, 2004 and FSO, Work Volume Statistics (WV) 2008. 2 See links to the data sources on the cover page 20. 3 See Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen, Richard Traunmüller, Birte Gundelach, Markus Freitag: Freiwilligen-Monitor Schweiz 2010 (Swiss Volunteering Survey). Seismo, Zurich 2010. 5
Where does formal volunteering occur? Men and women tend to volunteer in different areas. By far, most of men s volunteering is done for sports associations, followed by involvement in cultural associations and interest groups. Men are least involved in political parties and church institutions. Women also volunteer most frequently for sports associations, albeit to a lesser extent than men do. This is followed by social-charitable organisations, church institutions, and cultural associations. They volunteer far less frequently in the political sphere than men. Involvement in formal voluntary work By type and gender as a percentage of resident population Women Men 4.0 Sports associations 9.0 3.5 3.6 3.6 Cultural associations Social-charitable organisations Church institutions 2.5 2.1 5.3 2.1 1.2 0.7 12% 9% 6% 3% 0% Pressure groups Public services Political parties, agencies 3.1 2.4 2.0 0% 3% 6% 9% 12% Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 6
Who is involved in formal volunteering? Overall, formal volunteering rates do not vary greatly by age group. They increase up to the 40 54 age group and slowly decline thereafter. The only significant difference in participation rates can be found for individuals 75 and older who, as one would expect, volunteer far less frequently than their younger counterparts. Younger retired women up to age 74 are not less involved in formal volunteer activities; younger male pensioners are only slightly less involved than their younger cohorts. In general, people with higher educational attainment, the employed, as well as people engaged in domestic work and those living in a couple household with children are also those who tend to volunteer with an organisation or institution. This profile applies to both men and women; however, the participation rates for the latter are consistently lower. Involvement in formal voluntary work By age group and gender as a percentage of resident population 75+ 7.4 8.6 64/65 74 55 63/64 18.1 18.2 23.2 24.8 40 54 21.5 27.1 25 39 15 24 Total 15.2 16.0 16.9 22.7 21.3 23.0 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Men Women Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 People who are well-suited due to their age, education, or family and employment situations and who are well integrated in society dedicate the most time to formal voluntary work. 4 4 This is also confirmed by the results of the Swiss Volunteering Survey (see note 3). The FSO provides comprehensive summary tables based on socio-demographic features on the Swiss Statistics portal. 7
Motivations and recruitment potential 80% of formal volunteers state that they are active in associations and organisations because they enjoy doing voluntary work. 74% see their commitment as a good opportunity to be able to make a difference together with other people. 67% would like to help others and 61% consider meeting people as an important motivation for volunteering. Women and men alike show a high level of consistency in this combination of charitable motives and personal reasons. Women, however, mention helping, beliefs, and increasing their own experiences and knowledge more frequently as reasons for volunteering than men do. Reasons for formal volunteering Percentages of formal volunteers by gender Enjoy the activity Make a difference with others Come together with friendly people Help other people Increase own knowledge and experience Have responsibility and opportunities to make decisions Maintain a personal network Greater prestige for this activity Recognition Beliefs Helps to take charge of one s own problems Benefit for professional career Others expectations of you 37.1 39.9 25.8 26.1 25.1 25.5 21.9 28.2 17.9 16.4 11.7 15.7 11.3 9.7 81.7 85.3 74.0 74.6 62.5 59.5 62.3 73.5 57.8 64.1 53.8 50.9 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Men Women Percentages of formal volunteers who mention the relevant reason as important (with a minimum score of 8 on an 11-point scale) Source: SGG, Swiss Volunteering Survey 2009 8
Motivations and recruitment potential Roughly a quarter of those surveyed stated that they had previously done voluntary work. With the aim of assessing their potential for resuming voluntary work, their reasons for not continuing to volunteer are of particular interest. The most common reasons given are other obligations (mainly family or professional) that reduce the time available to do volunteer work (33%). 9% indicated that they had committed themselves for a limited period. Around 1 in 10 people discontinued their voluntary work due to health problems. 7% stated excessive physical and mental stress associated with volunteering as a reason why they stopped volunteering. For the most part, volunteers give up their activity for individual reasons connected to their current personal situation, such as starting or continuing an education. More than half of previous volunteers did not rule out making a new commitment sometime in the future. 9
Membership and voluntary activities Four different types of associational commitments can be distinguished: passive membership, active membership, voluntary work, and honorary positions 5. Their prevalence decreases as the level of obligation and effort increases and also varies according to the type of organisation. Church organisations and sports associations have the most members, with 36% and 34% respectively of the resident population holding membership. When considering only those members who actually take an active part in the association s life, the Swiss are most involved in sports associations (29%), followed by game, hobby, and leisure associations (20%), and cultural associations (14%). Voluntary work is also performed particularly often in sporting associations (10%), with cultural associations being the second most frequent choice (6%). Membership and formal volunteering by association type Percentage of the Swiss resident population 34.1 Sports associations 28.7 10.1 4.1 Cultural associations Game, hobby, leisure associations Church organisations Social, charitable associations Interest groups 18.2 14.3 5.8 3.1 22.7 19.5 5.0 2.2 35.7 13.6 4.5 1.6 19.4 8.7 4.1 1.3 27.5 8.8 3.0 1.9 8.6 Public service 7.3 2.6 1.1 4.7 Political, public agencies 1.2 4.6 1.0 Human rights, environmental 14.8 4.4 associations 1.1 0.4 7.6 Political parties 4.3 0.9 0.7 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Members Active members Volunteers Honorary post Source: SGG, Swiss Volunteering Survey 2009 5 While passive membership describes simply belonging to an association without actively participating in its activities, active members stand out by being actually involved in the association s life. This includes both mere participation in the association s activities and also taking on voluntary work. Honorary positions can be distinguished from voluntary work in general, in that a person is typically voted into an office and the commitment is binding for a certain period of time. 10
Membership and voluntary activities The same pattern can be observed for honorary positions: These kinds of binding commitments are found most frequently in sports (4%) and cultural (3%) associations. People from various different social groups are committed to voluntary work. One distinctive feature of many associations is their mixed and therefore rather open volunteering structure. In other words, such organisations bring together people from different social groups. Other associations, however, are characterised by a rather uniform structure, as they mainly attract people with similar social attributes. Cultural associations, for example, are the best at bringing together both genders and different generations. In environmental and human rights associations, both men and women of many different nationalities come into contact with one another. Taking into account volunteers level of education and income, church organisations, sports associations, as well as game, hobby, and leisure associations can be described as having a particularly mixed membership. In the political, social, and cultural areas, however, highly educated people tend to stay amongst themselves. A particularly politically mixed volunteer structure can be found in church and social associations. Overall, while it is mainly the churches and cultural associations that bring together people from different social groups, volunteering in politics seems to be less accessible for many groups of people. 11
Where does informal volunteering occur? Roughly one in six people performs informal unpaid work. While women most frequently look after relatives and/or friends children, men s participation rates in this area are significantly lower. The latter are more likely to help friends or neighbours by, for example, assisting with household chores, transport, or gardening. Around 1.6% of women and 0.4% of men take care of adult relatives who do not live in the same household. Involvement in informal voluntary work By type and gender as a percentage of resident population Women 8.1 5.7 4.9 3.1 1.6 1.1 (0.5) Looking after relative s children Looking after adult relatives Other services for relatives Looking after acquaintances children Looking after adult friends Other services for friends Other 3.7 0.4 2.6 1.9 (0.3) (0.3) 5.3 Men 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% (Number): The assessment is based on fewer than 50 observations in the sample survey and should therefore be interpreted with great caution. Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 12
Who is involved in informal volunteering? In contrast to formal voluntary work, participation rates by age group increase up until newly retired pensioners, who provide the largest share of informal assistance. This applies to both men and women; women s participation rates, however, are consistently higher. Men s commitments in the middle age groups increase rather slowly; a sharp increase can however be observed starting at retirement age. There is a considerable decline in informal voluntary work among both women and men starting at the age of 75. Involvement in informal voluntary work By age group and gender as a percentage of resident population 75+ 11.2 11.1 64/65 74 18,5 32.2 55 63/64 15.5 28.8 40 54 14.1 25.3 25 39 12.8 22.1 15 24 12.1 13.6 Total 13.9 22.7 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Men Women Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 Homemakers and parents living with children as well as people in couple households without children are primarily engaged in this field. These results reflect the structure of the informal unpaid activities. To a large extent, they are based on a network of mutual support among one s circle of friends and acquaintances. With regard to family situation, two findings stand out: the large commitment made by single parents and the rather low level of commitment from children aged between 15 and 24 who still live at home with their parents. 6 6 See reference in note 4. 13
Regional differences in volunteering With regards to formal voluntary work, there are relatively large regional differences. The first striking feature is that the proportion of people involved in voluntary work and honorary positions is significantly larger in German-speaking Switzerland than in the French and Italian-speaking regions. The participation rates in the Lake Geneva region and in Ticino are below average; Central and Eastern Switzerland have above average participation rates. While Zurich is slightly below the Swiss average, the Espace Mittelland and Northwest Switzerland are slightly above it. The participation rates in rural and smaller communes with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants are higher than in urban and larger communes. The agglomeration areas are around the Swiss average. The difference in voluntary involvement in sports associations accounts for most of the regional differences 7. In terms of informal voluntary work, we find similar differences between the linguistic regions as with regards to formal volunteer activity. The differences, however, are not quite as large. People living in German-speaking Switzerland are more frequently involved in informal activities than those living in the French and Italian-speaking regions. The participation rates in Ticino and the Lake Geneva region are below average. Central and Northwest Switzerland as well as the Espace Mittelland have above average participation rates. Eastern Switzerland and Zurich are on par with the Swiss average. When it comes to informal activities, we can identify a trend, albeit a less noticeable one than that for formal voluntary work, towards higher participation rates in rural areas and smaller communes with fewer inhabitants. 7 See Jacqueline Schön-Bühlmann: Freiwilligenarbeit in der Schweiz: Unterschiede nach ausgewählten regionalen Gliederungen (Voluntary work in Switzerland: Differences based on selected regional divisions). FSO, Neuchâtel 2011. 14
Regional differences in volunteering Involvement in voluntary work By type, gender and regional divisions as a percentage of resident population Informal voluntary work Formal voluntary work Total Major regions Lake Geneva region Espace Mittelland Northwest Switzerland Zurich Eastern Switzerland Central Switzerland Ticino Language region German French Italian/Rhaeto-romance Urban/Rural Urban Agglomeration Rural Commune size (Number of inhabitants) 100,000 and more 50,000 99,999 20,000 49,999 10,000 19,999 5,000 9,999 2,000 4,999 1,000 1,999 < 1,000 30% 20% 10% 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% Men Women Source: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS): Unpaid work 2010 15
Charitable donations Charitable giving is widespread in Switzerland. Almost three-quarters of the resident population stated that they have donated money or a payment in kind to non-profit organisations or people in need. As with voluntary work, charitable giving is more prevalent in Germanspeaking Switzerland than in the French or Italian-speaking regions. More than half of donors give up to CHF 300 per year, while only 10% donate more than CHF 1,000 per year. Which areas receive donations? Share of donors by cause as a percentage of all donors Invalid/Disabled/Sick Third World poverty/ Development aid Assistance/Poverty in Switzerland 34.1 32.2 37.8 Environment/Nature 26.0 Young people/children Disaster aid Culture/Sports 19.3 17.8 21.1 Church 12.6 Elderly people 9.5 Parties and political organisations 2.6 Other 13.3 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Source: SGG, Swiss Volunteering Survey 2009 Donations are made most often to social, charitable, and community organisations, followed by human rights and environmental organisations. Donations are however less likely to be made to political organisations such as parties and interest groups. 16
Charitable donations Percentage of donors By age group and gender as a percentage of resident population 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 82.6 81.9 83.4 84.2 82.8 70.8 74.7 70.0 46.2 46.6 15 19 20 39 40 64 65 79 80+ Women Men Source: SGG, Swiss Volunteering Survey 2009 In terms of charitable donations, the age structure pattern is similar to what we find for those involved in formal and informal voluntary work. The frequency of charitable giving increases significantly from around the age of 20, reaching the highest proportions among the middle-aged population. Unlike voluntary work, however, charitable giving does not decline to such a great extent for the older generations, but rather stabilises at a high level. 8 8 The rate for men age 80 and over is calculated on the basis of only 26 men who do not give to charity (as opposed to 123 men who do). The results are not statistically reliable with such a small number of cases and should therefore be interpreted with caution. 17
The eight types of volunteers Voluntary work in associations and organisations, informal voluntary work outside formal structures, and the donation of money or services in kind can be considered as three different types of voluntary commitment. The basic picture which emerges is that the more time-consuming and binding a voluntary commitment is, the lower the participation rates tend to be. While nearly three-quarters of Switzerland s resident population have been donating money or services in kind for many years, only a quarter or so are involved in formal voluntary work. 9 Eight groups of volunteers Percentage of resident population Non-volunteers 16.7% Avid volunteers 7.6% Volunteers 0.6% Formal Plus 15.9% Formal 2.3% Charity donors 36.0% Informal Plus 16.5% Informal 4.4% Source: SGG, Swiss Volunteering Survey 2009 9 The results of the Swiss Volunteering Survey differ slightly from those of the SLFS: the participation rates are slightly higher than in the SLFS. This is primarily due to differences in the survey designs. 18
The eight types of volunteers The graph on page 18 summarises the different possible combinations of voluntary commitment into groups of voluntary activities. Only 16.7% of the resident population is not involved in volunteering in any way. 7.6% are avid volunteers who are involved informally and formally and also donate money or services in kind. The largest group are those people who give to charity, but do not do any voluntary work. It is interesting that those volunteering on a formal and informal basis nearly always give to charity as well. This is why groups made up exclusively of volunteers are relatively small in this summary. Overall, informal and formal volunteers who do not give to charity account for only 7.3% of the resident population. Eight types of volunteers Avid volunteers: formal and informal volunteers who also give to charity. Volunteers: formal and informal volunteers who do not give to charity. Formal Plus: formal volunteers who also give to charity. Formal: formal volunteers who do not give to charity. Informal Plus: informal volunteers who also give to charity. Informal: informal volunteers who do not give to charity. Charity donors: non-volunteers who give to charity. Non-volunteers: non-volunteers who also do not give to charity. 19
Inhaltsverzeichnis Data and other sources of information This brochure was produced by the Federal Statistical Office in cooperation with the Swiss Non-Profit Society (SGG). Federal Statistical Office (FSO): Unpaid Work module, Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), every three to four years since 1997, latest survey 2010 Swiss Non-Profit Swiss Volunterring Survey 2006 and Society (SGG): 2009 Orders: Federal Statistical Office (FSO) Tel. +41 (0) 32 713 60 60 order@bfs.admin.ch Order no.: 426-1100, free Information: Websites with further information about voluntary work: Federal Statistical Office (FSO): Jacqueline Schön-Bühlmann Tel. +41 (0) 32 713 64 18 jacqueline.schoen-buehlmann@bfs.admin.ch Swiss Volunteering Survey: Prof. Dr. Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen Tel. +41 (0) 31 631 83 55 isabelle.stadelmann@ipw.unibe.ch www.benevol.ch www.freiwilligenjahr2011.ch www.freiwilligenmonitor.ch www.sgg-ssup.ch www.statistics.admin.ch>topics> Economic and social situation of the population>unpaid work