4/25/08: Consider volunteering -- for your own sake

We Americans are wasting our time. While most of us plop down in front of the TV after work, according to an article run recently in this paper, watching television only rates "middling" on the enjoyment scale. Those who eschew television in favor of reading "War and Peace" or other self-improvement schemes probably aren't rating those pursuits much higher. We're using our leisure time badly. We're not having as much fun as we could or should be having.

So let's do something about it.

Try volunteering.

There are a lot of reasons to volunteer for a cause you believe in, but most of them rely on an appeal to the unselfish, altruistic side of us that cares about duty and fellow-feeling and abstract concepts of generosity.

My argument for volunteering is purely selfish: Do it because you'll like it.

Volunteering clears the way for caring about what we really, actually care about. We may be at our jobs for purely practical reasons -- the salary or benefits, for instance -- but volunteering eliminates these obstacles to our enjoyment.

I call getting paid "an obstacle" with good reason: For decades, research into educational psychology has shown that when we're motivated by external rewards for something that should be intrinsically rewarding, we take less pleasure in it. University students asked to solve puzzles or write newspaper headlines, activities they found rewarding for their own sakes, were less likely to continue those activities after the experiment if they had been paid to do them. The reward interfered with their enjoyment of the activities, which became "required" instead of "fun."

This contradicts the impulse to throw money at problems -- problems such as teachers leaving beleaguered school districts. According to Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research group, raising salaries -- a solution frequently offered as a panacea for teacher loss -- would not be most effective for retaining teachers. Instead, teachers who left cited "unreasonable standards and accountability" as their main reason for leaving.

Among the general population, a Families and Work Institute survey showed people rank "salary/wage" as 16th out of 20 reasons listed for taking a job.

We just don't care that much about money. In fact, money sometimes gets in the way of what we do care about.

But if you're looking for more mercenary reasons to sacrifice your leisure time to voluntary service, consider the following.

On a practical level, volunteering is an "in," in terms of networking. Getting to know the staff of any given agency will put your foot in the door, should you ever decide to make nonprofit work into a full-time career. In a time of limited employment options, that's nothing to sneeze at.

And while applying for a job requires a cover letter and resume highlighting accomplishments relevant to the position you hope to fill, volunteering for an organization you might be interested in working for usually takes no more than an inquiring phone call. Often, no previous experience is required. Almost any organization will train "on the job," giving you knowledge, skills and abilities that carry over into your professional or personal life.

Finally, the warm-and-fuzzy feeling of "giving something back" has become a cliche, but it's become one for a reason. I taught as a full-time volunteer for two years at an adult education school in Washington, D.C., though an Americorps-associated voluntary service program, and i can tell you -- there's nothing quite like watching one of your students walk up to the front of a crowded, happy room to accept a hard-won diploma.

It certainly can't be topped by a rerun of "Friends."