VCS Economic Forum Launch

Dr Vanessa Beck Dr Daniela Rudloff University of Leicester 23 October 2013

Coping strategies �  How do people respond to stress? ◦  Problem focused coping

�  Active coping �  Planning �  Suppression of competing activities �  Restraint coping �  Seeking of instrumental social support ◦  Emotion focused coping

�  Seeking of emotional social support �  Positive reinterpretation �  Acceptance �  Denial �  Turning to religion ◦  Less constructive ways of coping

�  Venting of emotions �  Behavioural disengagement �  Mental disengagement

(Carver et al., 1989)

Individualism vs. collectivism �  Increased individualism in society and requirement for

individual responsibility (e.g. welfare, employability, etc.) ◦  Risk Society (Beck, 1992) and second or reflexive

modernity (Beck et al.,1994) ◦  Individualisation constitutes “unspoken ideological

foundations” (Dean, 2004, p. 12) �  “[T]he individualistic nature of contemporary culture

serve[s] to discourage a sense of responsibility for others” (Ellis and Rogers, 2004, p. 93).

�  Examples from project on unemployed women’s coping strategies: ◦  Self help / support group (phone lists, activities from

everyday to cultural) ◦  Conversations (interviews) act as ‘therapy’

Volunteering and volunteer wellbeing

�  Increased wellbeing observed and self-reported by volunteers ◦  Lower mortality rates ◦ More likely to be happier, less likely to

suffer from depression ◦ Report higher levels of life satisfaction ◦  Lower risk factors for stress-related

illness, e.g. heart disease

Volunteering and happiness �  Strong correlation between mental and

physical wellbeing and volunteering – but is there a causal link?

�  How does volunteering improve volunteer happiness? ◦  Trains empathy ◦  Provides social comparison, lowers concern for

status ◦  Socially integrated ◦  Better (perceived) coping skills ◦  More active lifestyle

�  All these factors can be linked to improved mood -> less stress -> better health

‘Reasonable altruism’ � However, this is true only where

volunteering does not ‘overwhelm’ the volunteer, causing compassion fatigue

� Burn-out due to intense emotions, often combined with lack of training

� Most likely to occur after significant time of experience when idealism and enthusiasm likely to be replaced with realism and cynicism

� Volunteering requires „self-renewal“: new roles, self-reflection, time off

Emotional labour � This refers to the effort, planning and

control that is required to express desired emotions (Karabanow 1999).

� The establishment of a personal and trusting relationship is in itself an emotional and intense process

� Examples of different relationships from project of learning providers working with NEETs

�  Homology (I am like you: empathy, acceptance, role model)

They see that, that’s explained, that’s what you can do. She’s come from where you are. �  Mother (not father?) figure: nurture, support, caring … we make them toast in the morning and you know clear up after them. [T]he problem for me as a male, is that they’re trying to compute in their head who’s “Ben”, who is he, what is this role model, is he my dad, is he my granddad, most of them have a step dad who they don’t seem to like very much, they haven't had a male role model and that’s vital.

�  The police / keeping it real I think the providers that deal with the problems a bit more successfully are (…) just real with them and say look this is reality, this is what’s going to happen and then that’s it. �  Sales strategies: create demand, responsive, listen [O]ne of the most valuable things I ever learnt in sales, which I employ religiously with working with young people, is get to know your end user and don’t make a product that you yourself wouldn’t want to buy.

�  The soldier: challenge I just don’t believe in pampering people too much. I believe, alright you’ve had a bad background, you’ve had a bad start, what you going to do, sit there crying or are you going to stand up and fight?

References �  Beck, U., 1990. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage. �  Beck, U., Giddens, A. and Lash, S. (1994) Reflexive Modernization. Politics, Tradition and

Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order. Cambridge: Polity Press. �  Borgonovi, F. (2008). Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal

volunteering and self-reported health and happiness. Social Science and Medicine, 66, 2321-2334.

�  Carver, C., Scheier, M. and Weintraub, J. (1989) Assessing Coping Strategies: A Theoretically Based Approach, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2): 267-283.

�  Dean, H. (2004) Human Rights and welfare rights: contextualising dependency and responsibility. In: H. Dean (ed.) The Ethics of Welfare, Human rights, dependency and responsibility. Bristol: Policy Press, 7-28.

�  Ellis, K. and Rogers, R. (2004) Fostering a human rights discourse in the provision of social care for adults. In: H. Dean (ed.) The Ethics of Welfare, Human rights, dependency and responsibility. Bristol: Policy Press, 89-109.

�  Haski-Leventhal, D., and Bargal, D. (2008). The volunteer stages and transitions model: Organisational socialisation of volunteers. Human Relations, 61: 67.

�  Karabanow, J., 1999. When Caring Is Not Enough: Emotional Labor and Youth Shelter Workers. Social Service Review, 73 (3), 340-357.

�  Post, S. (2005). Altruism, Happiness and Health: It’s Good to Be Good. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 12(2), 66-77.