Do you know that over half of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs? They’re restless. They’re bored. They point their fingers at unreasonable bosses, ludicrously small paychecks and employment that doesn’t even begin to challenge their intellect, even when they have a great boss, a fabulous salary and a challenging, satisfying career.
Now, this is where most people would tell you to get a new job. Maybe they’d suggest a sabbatical, followed by a re-evaluation of your life’s priorities and a non-too-subtle suggestion to stop climbing the corporate ladder and start spending more time trying to find yourself. I’m going to tell you something different: Stay at your job, spend your spare time volunteering.
Organizations all over the world are looking for volunteers to fill in the gap between their budget and the services they want to provide. Not only is volunteering good for them, it’s good for you. Studies show that along with providing a sense of purpose, volunteering can give you:
- Improved mental health.
- Reduced risk of depression and burnout.
- Better physical and mental health later in life.
- Greater life satisfaction, and yes…
- A tendency to be happier with their jobs!
When we think of ways to cope with work stress, spending our free time working at a soup kitchen, reading at an inner-city school or volunteering at the animal shelter isn’t usually at the top of the list. A bowl of popcorn and a movie sound like a better idea when those dogs are barking at the end of the day! Yet people who spend their spare time making their mark on society through volunteering show a greater satisfaction in every other area of their lives-perhaps because through volunteering they realize that somehow, somewhere, no matter who they are or where they work, they’re making a difference.
How can you volunteer? Visit you area SPCA, offer your time to a retirement home or put together a team to clean and rehab your local playground (with permission, of course). Healthcare workers can also consider donating their time to Doctors without Borders or one of the many groups helping out in the wake of the devastation in Haiti or the oil spill out in the Gulf. It can be as grand as spending a month in the villages of Africa or as simple as spending an hour a week mentoring a child. Give of yourself. I promise, they’ll give you back so much more.
This post was inspired by an article recently published in Reader’s Digest. For more information on volunteering in your local community, nationally or around the world, visit www.serve.gov.