FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Charity work for free - Caught on Camera

Many people volunteer and do charity work out of the kindness of their hearts, expecting nothing in return. However, in some cases, organizations ask their staff to volunteer on specific projects, so they reimburse them for their work. It’s a way of motivating people because they can’t choose when and where to be altruistic.

One internet user vented online about how their company asked its employees to do paid charity work, and at first, everyone seemed to be happily on board. They’d be helping the community, spending time outdoors, and even enjoying a nice lunch that wasn’t corporate pizza. However, the workers’ mood quickly soured after the company made huge changes to the plan.

Scroll down to read the full story, as well as Bored Panda’s interview with the author of the viral post, who was kind enough to answer our questions.

It’s not uncommon for companies to help local communities by doing charity work

Image credits: DC Studio/Envato (not the actual photo)

This company changed its stance on paying for employees’ charity work, so the employees changed theirs on attending

Image credits: Pixabay/Pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Away_Location

Image credits: Julia M Cameron / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Companies can significantly add to charitable causes, as well as encourage their employees to do the same

To many people, doing good feels good, so they might often be seen taking part in all sorts of initiatives, such as charity work or volunteering. According to Statista’s data from 2021, while the extent to which people took part in the latter, for example, differed with each age group, roughly one-in-five people volunteered with at least one organization that year.

In an interview with Bored Panda, the author shared that they, too, were no stranger to charity work, which made them feel really bad for the charity they were supposed to work with. “I used to do a lot of community service in high school and I know they’re always happy for any volunteers. But I have to remind myself that we didn’t let the charity down, the branch manager did.”

When done right, such initiatives can strongly encourage company employees to give back to the community and take part in philanthropic activities of all sorts. BrightFunds points out that close to 90% of executives believe that companies must lead with purpose and nearly as many think that over the course of the next five years, employees will increasingly value a meaningful mission and an opportunity to make an impact on that mission.

The author revealed that their company has suggested that the employees do volunteer work on their personal days, but this was to be the first time they would have been doing it as a group. “Having a group of people helps encourage others to go,” the redditor said. “When they announced the event, my manager doubted they’d get many volunteers. But it quickly became a chain reaction of, ‘I’ll go if you’re going’, and I find that very inspiring.”

According to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), a group of charitable organizations in the UK and North America operating globally, there are numerous ways companies and businesses can inspire their employees to support a good cause. Some examples include making a commitment to “match the staff’s efforts—including payroll donations and volunteering time—from the company account” or setting up a ‘Staff Charity Fund’, where employees can pool their payroll, giving donations to make a bigger collective donation to a charity.

In a piece for Raconteur, the head of corporate clients at CAF, Philippa Cornish, suggested that businesses should commit to ambitious and bold strategic giving programmes, which would meet the stakeholder expectations, at the same time reflecting the business’s purpose.

“This ensures buy-in across an organisation, demonstrates genuine commitment to internal and external audiences, and ensures corporate charitable donations are not dismissed as disingenuous box-ticking,” she explained.

Image credits: Gustavo Fring / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Young people are seemingly keen on supporting good causes

According to America’s Charities, young professionals nowadays seem to be enthusiastic about workplace donations, reportedly increasing their givings year-over-year. Leading by example, they show that actions speak louder than words and arguably significantly add to good causes all over the world; in the US, workplace giving is reportedly among the most cost-effective ways to support charities.

Said source also pointed out that more than 70% of employed individuals say that it’s imperative or very important that their workplace boasts a culture that is supportive of giving and volunteering. And while some people might consider company charitable giving or volunteering to be a PR stunt, as the OP suggested, they might still be willing to take part; unless the company changes their stance on the matter completely at the last minute.

“You could definitely tell who were the more older employees vs the younger ones; the younger ones were pretty upset, while the older ones like me were kinda indifferent. I feel we’re kind of used to it by now,” the redditor shared. “I’ve worked in corporate jobs for over 10 years so I’ve learned never to get my hopes up – there have been so many events (mostly employee appreciation type) that always seem to fall through. Needless to say, the branch manager successfully [destroyed] morale for the week.”

Netizens believed that employees doing charity work should be appreciated properly

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