INTRODUCTION

1
Volunteerism in organisations

In recent times, most of the organisations are opting for outreach programmes as a part of the
corporate social responsibility as it enables an overall organizational development. The
organisations are capable of providing the most important and the greatest asset, which is the
man power. Hence it is important that the organisation has clear set goals about the kind of work
it takes up and also makes its employees aware of the programmes which gives an opportunity
for them to lend a helping hand as a small effort of spending time with the people in need.

Catering to the requirements of the needy can be done at various levels and includes time,
money, sharing skill, experience etc.,

Referring to Robert Putnam’s theory regarding social capital, volunteering as a form of civic
participation is part of the measurement criteria of democracy success in a country, and decline
or apathy may be a predictor of democratic crisis.

Lack of volunteer participation is a huge handicap in the societies nowadays and the
phenomenon is universal. Volunteerism plays an important role in the democratic process, social
cohesion and human development. While encompassing a myriad of activities, including
assisting old people, raising awareness about peace and human rights, planting a tree or
constructing roads, volunteerism also offers an enormous contribution to the achievement of
global strategies

MindTree

MindTree Foundation, a wing of MindTree, is committed in contributing to the society and to

care for the neighbourhood through the outreach programs by creating opportunities for the
MindTree Minds (employees) to work towards a more equitable society.

MindTree Foundation was officially incorporated on 20th November 2007. The core mission of
the non-profit organization is to ‘support primary education and the cause of differently-abled
people by leveraging MindTree’s leadership, values, and resources’.

In this report, we are trying to analyse the various factors which might have an effect on the
participation levels of the employees.

2
PROBLEM AND
METHODOLOGY

3
Objective
To determine the factors influencing motivation to volunteer.

Hypothesis
1. There is no significant difference between Work and Family factors.
2. There is no significant difference between Work and Leisure time (for
volunteering) factors.
3. There is no significant difference between Work and Travel factors.
4. There is no significant difference between volunteers and non volunteers on the
level of importance given on the four factors [Work, Family, Leisure time (for
volunteering), Travel]

Plan
The plan of the study was to assess employees’ attitude and the reasons for lack of volunteering.
The study was conducted to see whether work, family or other specific reasons result in
volunteering and non-volunteering.

It was planned that sample of 250 will be collected, scored and interpreted. On the basis of the
responses, analysis was done to categorize those responses into Work, Family, Leisure time (for
volunteering), and Travel.

A checklist was developed, by a team of Psychology students, consisting of 25 statements based

on the factors – Work, Family, Leisure time (for volunteering), Travel including 5 lie statements.

Procedure
The certain number of Participants from MindTree Ltd were given the checklists and requested
to give their responses by choosing one of the five choices (Strongly agree, Agree, Neutral,
Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Responses from a total of 263 participants were collected. They
were also asked to furnish their personal details in the space provided for the same.
Doubts regarding the statements in the checklist were clarified objectively.
On the basis of survey questionnaire responses, analysis and interpretation was carried out.

4
Description of the material
The material consists of 25 statements. The employees were assessed on 4 factors.

 Work consists of 8 statements

 Family consists of 3 statements
 Leisure time (for volunteering) 8 statements
 Travel consists of 1 question.

Statements related to work tries to analyze the degree to which the job factors are important.
For instance, the checklist consists of a statement- ‘In life, I consider work as only a small part of
who I am.’
The factor Family tries to analyze the significance of personal aspects.

The Leisure time (for volunteering) factor aims to analyze the extent to which the employees
contribute their free time towards social cause.
The factor Travel consists of one item which measures the willingness of the employee to travel
long distance for a cause.

The degree of responses are marked as Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly
Disagree.

The checklist also consists of five lie statements. A data with a total lie score beyond 15 is
considered unreliable.
At the end of the checklist the employees were asked to choose three areas of interest for social
cause from the options given.

Sample
A total of five categories of sample were chosen for the study. They are-

General population- 100

Campus Trainees- 80
Senior Employees- 25
Volunteers- 29
Non volunteers- 29

Giving a total sample size of 263 employees.

5
Analysis of Data
 The statements were given a score of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 respectively for positive items and 1, 2,
3, 4, 5 for negative items respectively on the basis of the responses given.
 The mean score and standard deviation for the four factors of the three categories of
sample was derived. (Excluding sample category of volunteers and non volunteers)
 Bar graphs for each of the four factors and total of the three categories of the sample is
represented
 Paired sample t-test was conducted to compare the means between volunteers and non
volunteers.
 A bar graph is shown to compare the two categories - volunteers and non volunteers on
four factors.
 Pie charts are represented for the aspects- Marital status, geographical location (if the
employees are based in Bangalore, if they are from Karnataka), Kannada language
known.

6
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

7
GENERAL POPULATION
Table I- shows the mean, mean divided by number of questions, and standard deviation of the
general population of the employees

Mean/number Std. Deviation

Factors
N Sum Mean of statements

Work 100 2565 25.65 3.206 2.568

Family 100 1163 11.63 3.876 1.637
Leisure time (for 100 2727 27.27 3.408 3.795
volunteering)
Travel 100 333 3.33 3.33 .766

The data obtained from this sample category implies that the factor family is given utmost
importance over the other three factors. The mean of mean (which is the mean divided by the
number of statements in the checklist) is 3.876667. This denotes that this sample prefers to spend
time with their families, personal obligations and other free time activities over the other factors-
Work, Leisure time (for volunteering) and Travel. .

The standard deviation score obtained for Family is 1.637, suggesting that the dispersion of
scores for this factor is less and thus is more reliable. .
The Standard deviation score obtained for leisure time (for volunteering) is high suggesting
greater dispersion of score which means that their responses are not reliable for this factor.

The data above in the table can be depicted in a graph .

GRAPH.A

General Employeess
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5 Mean
Std. Deviation
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Work Family Leisure time(for Travel
volunteering)

8
GRAPH I: Shows the marital status of General Employees

Marital Status
Not Specified
3%

Married
36%

Single
61%

Graph depicts the percentage of the marital status of the participants from the general category.

61% of the sample is unmarried, 36% of the sample is married and 3% of the sample has not
specified in the checklist.

GRAPH II: Shows the percentage of General Employees who are based in Karnataka

Home Town
Not Specified
10%

In State
48%

Out State
42%

Graph II represents the percentage of the sample based on where their hometown location is

The sample data shows that In state and out state sample is dispersed at 42% and 48%
respectively.

9
GRAPH III: Shows the percentage of General employee sample who are from Bengaluru

Home Town Bengaluru

In Begaluru
26%

Not Specified
52%
Out Of Bengaluru
22%

Graph shows the percentage of participants based in Bengaluru. Most of the participants have not
disclosed their hometown.
Among the participants who have mentioned, 26% of them are based in Bengaluru and the rest
are out of Bengaluru.

GRAPH IV: Shows the percentage of General employee sample who know Kannada

Kannada Language

Not Specified Known

32% 40%

Not Known
28%

Graph shows the percentage of the participants who know Kannada language.

Out of the 68% of the sample who have mentioned, 40% are familiar with the language while
28% do not know.

10
From the overall data collected for the various aspects like the marital status, Kannada language
known, whether they are based in Bengaluru etc and the statistical analysis, its evident that –

 greater proportion of the sample is unmarried

 Are familiar with the Kannada language
 A good percentage of employees are from Bengaluru.

This shows that there is great scope for this section of the population to be a part of volunteer
programs, provided they are made aware of the existing programs, the content and the way it
works.

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CAMPUS TRAINEES
TABLE II- Shows the Mean, Mean divided by a number of statements, Standard deviation of
the sample category Campus trainees

Mean/number Std. Deviation

Factors
N Sum Mean of statements

Work 80 2147 26.84 3.355 2.812

Family 80 927 11.59 3.8633 1.659
Leisure time (for 80 2228 27.85 3.48125 4.143
volunteering)
Travel 80 283 3.54 3.54 1.006

The mean average score obtained from this sample category implies that the factor Family is
given highest importance over the other three factors. This signifies that this sample prefers to
spend time with their families, personal activities and interests over the other factors- Work,
Leisure time (for volunteering) and Travel. .
.
The standard deviation score obtained for Family is 1.659, suggesting that the dispersion of
scores for this factor is less which means to say that their responses fall around a certain score
and thus is more reliable.

The data mentioned in the table above is depicted in the graph below

12
GRAPH.B

Campus Trainees
4.5

3.5
3

2.5 Mean
Std. Deviation
2

1.5
1

0.5

0
Work Family Leisure time(for Travel
Volunteering)

GRAPH V: Shows the marital status of Campus Trainees

Marital Status
Married
1%

Single
99%

The above graph shows the marital status of the campus trainees in percentage. While a greater
percentage of the trainees are unmarried, a negligible percent of the sample is married.

GRAPH VI: Shows the percentage of Campus Trainees who are based in Karnataka

13
 Home Town
Not Specified
3%

Out State
45% In State
53%

The graph above shows the percentage of the sample who are from Karnataka.
52% of the sample is from Karnataka, 45% of the sample is from other states and 3% of the
sample has not specified.

GRAPH VII: Shows the percentage of Campus Trainees who are from Bengaluru

Home Town Bengaluru

Not Specified In Bengaluru

46% 48%

Out of Begaluru
6%

The graph represents the segregation of the data showing the percentage of people who are based
in Bangalore. 48% of the sample is basically from Bangalore. 46% are not from Bangalore and
6% of the sample have not specified

GRAPH VIII: Shows the percentage of Campus Trainees who know Kannada

14
 Kannada Language

Known
28%

Not Specifed
40%

Not Known
33%

The graph represents the percentage of the people who know the language Kannada. Graph
shows that 27% of the people out of 80 know Kannada, 27% of people are not familiar with
Kannada and 33% of the population have not specified.

On the whole, the data and statistical calculations suggest that a good percentage of the trainees
are from karnataka based in Bengaluru. As this specific population is still new to the
organisation, they are a potential group who might take up volunteering in the near future
provided they are motivated and guided in the right direction. The only obstacle which might
come in the way of volunteering is that not a greater proportion of the sample is familiar with the
Kannada language, as indicated by the data.

15
SENIOR EMPLOYEES
Table III showing the total, mean and standard deviation of the sample category senior
employees

Mean/ numberStd. Deviation

Factors
N Sum Mean of statements

Work 25 655 26.21 3.265 2.577

Family 25 295 11.80 3.933 1.658
Leisure time (for25 639 25.56 3.1 6.151
volunteering)
Travel 25 80 3.10 3.1 1.190

Data obtained for the sample category senior employees indicates that they give high preference
to Family aspects. The next important factor in the list according to the data is Work. This means
that they prioritize family in the heirarchy of the above four factors. The data also states that
most of the participants in this sample do not prefer doing something else apart from work most
of the times.

16
The data in the table can be depicted in a graphic form

GRAPH C

Senior Employees
7

4 Mean
Std. Devations
3

0
Work Family Leisure Time(for Travel
volunteering)

GRAPH IX: Shows the marital status of Senior Employees

Marital Status

Single
32%

Married
68%

This graph depicts the percentage of the marital status of the participants from the senior
employee category.

Out of 25 participants, 32% of the sample is unmarried and 68% of the sample is married.

GRAPH X: Shows the percentage of Senior Employees who are based in Karnataka

17
 Home Town

Out State
28%

In State
72%

Graph II represents the percentage of the sample based on where their hometown location is

The sample data shows that In state and out state sample is dispersed at 42% and 48%
respectively.

18
GRAPH XI: Shows the percentage of Senior Employees who are from Bengaluru

Home Town Bengaluru

In Bengaluru
28%
Not Specified
44%

Out Of Bengaluru
28%

Graph represents the percentage of Senior Employees who are from Bengaluru

The sample data shows that In state and out state sample is dispersed at 28% and 28%
respectively.
But a large proportion of the sample has not specified.

GRAPH XII: Shows the percentage of Senior Employees who know Kannada

Kannada Language

Not Specified
16%

Known
52%
Not Known
32%

The graph represents the percentage of the people who know the language Kannada. Graph
shows that more than half the sample is familiar with the language Kannada. 52% of the people
out of 25 know Kannada, 32% of people are not familiar with Kannada and 16% of the
population have not specified.
19
VOLUNTEERS AND NON-VOLUNTEERS

TABLE IV shows the paired sample descriptive statistics of volunteers and non volunteers on
the four factors

Mean /number
Mean N Std. Deviation of statements

Pair 1 Work (Voln) 24.4838 29 3.285 3.060

Work (N V) 26.4137 29 1.918 3.301

Pair 2 Family (Voln) 10.9032 29 2.240 3.634
Family (NV) 11.5172 29 1.526 3.839
Pair 3 Leisure time 27.8387 29 4.517 3.479
(for
volunteering)
Leisure time 26.7241 29 4.342 3.340
(for
volunteering)
Pair 4 Travel (Voln) 3.48387 29 .797 3.483

Travel (NV) 3.41379 29 .733 3.413

The data obtained for the two categories of sample- volunteers and non-volunteers shows that
there is a noticeable difference in how much they value each of the four factors. The difference
in the average mean is higher in the two factors Work and Family. The obtained score in the
factors Work and Family is higher for the non volunteers while the volunteers have a high score
in the factors leisure and travel.

This means that the sample of volunteers value participation in social cause and prefer being a
part of the community development programs. Whereas the non-volunteers gain more
satisfaction through their work and family aspects in life.

20
TABLE V shows t test for factors of volunteers and Non volunteers

Paired Differences

Std. Error
Mean Std. Deviation Mean t Df Sig. (2-tailed)

Pair 1 Work - Work .241 3.979 .739 .327 28 .746

Pair 2 Family - Family .138 2.937 .545 .253 28 .802
Pair 3 Leisure time (for3.034 5.822 1.081 2.807 28 .009
volunteering) -
Leisure time (for
volunteering)
Pair 4 Travel - Travel .310 1.072 .199 1.558 28 .130

Table shows the paired mean difference of the two groups (volunteers and non volunteers).
t test was done to compare the means of the four factors for the two groups. The obtained t value
when compared to the significant two tailed value suggests that there isn’t significant difference
between the two groups for the factors work and family. Whereas the t score indicates that there
is significant difference between the two groups for the factors Leisure time (for volunteering)
and Travel.

This suggests that the volunteers are willing to travel long distance to travel for a cause and
spend more of their free time towards philanthrophic activities.

However, both the groups value the two factors work and family on an equale scale.

The same is depicted in the bar graph D

Table VI shows the t scores of the total values obtained on the two groups Volunteers and Non-
Volunteers
21
 Paired Differences

Std. Error
Mean Std. Deviation Mean t Df Sig. (2-tailed)

Pair 1 Total - Total 3.241 9.887 1.836 1.765 28 .088

The obtained t score 1.765 is greater than the significant two tailed score 0.088
This indicates that there is significant difference between the two groups- Volunteers and non-
volunteers for the four factors.

Graph D showing the mean scores of volunteers and non-volunteers on the four factors

4.5

3.5

2.5
VOLUNTEERS
2 NON VOLUNTEERS

1.5

0.5

0
WORK FAMILY LEISURE TRAVEL

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GRAPH XIII: Shows the Marital status of Volunteers and Non Volunteers

Marital Status Marital Status

Married Single
48% Single Married 48%
52% 52%

The comparison of the above two graphs for the aspect marital status indicates that there isn’t
much discrepancy in the percentage of the participants. Hence suggests that marital status isn’t a
determining factor for volunteering or non volunteering.

GRAPH XIV: Shows the percentage of Volunteers and non volunteers who are from Bengaluru

Home Town Bengaluru Home Town Bengaluru

In Bengaluru
17%
Not Specified
28%
In Bengaluru
41%
Not Specified
52%
Out Of Bengaluru
31%
Out Of Bengaluru
31%

Comparing the above graphs for the two groups, it indicates that there is a noticeable difference
in the percentage of participants who are based in Bengaluru. This could be one the reasons for
non-volunteering among the non volunteer participants.

However, the small percentage of participants in Bengaluru among the non volunteer group
could be because a large proportion of the participants have not specified their hometown and is
thus not reliable.

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GRAPH XV: Shows the percentage of Volunteers and Non volunteer who know Kannada

Kannada Language Kannada Language

Not Specified
14%
Not Specified Known
34% 41%

Not Known
21%

Known
66% Not Known
24%

The comparitive analysis of the above two graphs show that a good percentage of volunteers are
familiar with Kannada language, whereas only 41% of the non volunteers know Kannada.
Nevertheless, it is not a small number for the sample of this non volunteer group where language
might act as a hurdle for volunteering.

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GRAPH XVI

Preferred areas for social work

Poor
13%
specific population
31%

Education
26%

Environment
Health 18%
12%

The checklist also consisted of an item where the participants were asked to specify the areas of
social cause they feel most passionate to work for.

Above graph represents that the data collected from the sample of 263, most of them prefer
working towards education and improvement in the environmental conditions.
considerable number of participants also prefer working towards the betterment of poor and
health conditions.

GRAPH XVII

Areas
Specially abled Women & Girls
16% 14%

Homeless
14%

Children
35%

Elderly
21%

The participants were also asked to specify the target population they would like to work for.
The data obtained for this indicates that most of them prefer working for children and elderly in
the heirarchy which also consists of homeles, specially abled etc.

25
This graph is represented to segregate the responses to what charity means to each of the three
sample category- General employees, campus trainees and senior employees

GRAPH XVIII

120

100
33

80

22 45
60

40 5
54
20 36 11
6
7
0
General Employees Campus Trainees Senior Employees

Time Money Sharing Skill

When looked at the graph, its clear that the perception of charity for the general sample is
different from the other two sample categories. While charity implies time for the general
sample, it means sharing skill for the campus trainees and the senior employees. However,
money does not convey as a means of charity for all the three groups.

26
SUMMARY
Volunteering is an act in recognition of need, with an attitude of social responsibility and without
concern for monetary profit, going beyond one’s basic obligations. Volunteers for any social
cause are motivated by factors such as personal satisfaction and growth. Outreach programs in
the corporate sector as a part of their social responsibility is an attempt to enable the functioning
of the environment as normal as possible. In this direction, the MindTree Foundation, a wing of
the MindTree Ltd., Bengaluru has designed several programs for a social cause. The greatest
adversity in successfully meeting the goals of the Foundation work has been to gain the required
number of volunteers to support the programs.

This survey study has been carried out to analyze the factors influencing volunteering and non-
volunteering. A sample of 263 participants was chosen for the examination of several factors to
measure the degree of their influence on volunteering. The whole sample was divided into five
categories and an independent study has been done for the samples – General population,
campus trainees and senior employees. A comparative study of the two samples of equal size (29
each) has been done to evaluate the significant difference for the four factors (Work, Family,
Leisure time (for volunteering).

The results of study have been individually interpreted for each of the sample categories. The
findings shows that sample of General employees and campus trainees value the Family factor
more over the other three factors – Work, Leisure time (for volunteering). The outcome of
statistical analysis for the data of senior employees indicates that they give more importance to
Family and Work factors. These above factors indicated as having high influence suggests that
they could be one of key reasons for the act of non-volunteering.

The comparative analysis of the data of volunteers and non-volunteers shows that there is
significant difference in the perception of volunteering and the level of importance they give to
the other aspects, between the two groups. The result shows that there is considerable difference
in the score for the factors – Leisure time (for volunteering) and travel.

However, the data obtained on this study is not completely accurate in itself since the lie score
exceeds the normal range suggesting that the result is not completely valid and reliable.

27
CONCLUSION

 There is no significant difference between Work and Family factors for all the samples of
category
 There is no significant difference between Work and Leisure factors for all the samples of
category
 There is no significant difference between Work and Travel factors for all the samples of
category
 There is significant difference between volunteers and non volunteers on the level of
importance given on the four factors [Work, Family, Leisure time (for volunteering),
Travel]

Therefore we can conclude that there is a combined influence of the factors- Work,
Family, Leisure. However, Family has a mojor influence on the act of volunteering.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

29
http://www.unv.undp.org.al/documents/Study%20Research%20on
%20Volunteerism%20in%20Albania%202009.pdf

http://www.energizeinc.com/art/adef.html

http://www.mindtreefoundation.org/

30
APPENDIX

31
 SURVEY STUDY-INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT PROJECT
VENUE: MINDTREE FOUNDATION

Project investigator: Amrita Rao, Asha Venkatesh, Deepa B.N, Deepashree Sukruth (II M.Sc Psychology)

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name (Last, First, M.I.):
Marital status: Single Married Age: Gender: M F
Email(optional): Phone Number (optional):
Home town: Area of Residence:
Proficiency of languages: (R,W,S)
Work Experience: Work profile:
Are you a MindTree foundation volunteer? Yes No
If yes, Regular Occasional
Duration: Project:
Does being a volunteer make you feel good/satisfied? Always Sometimes Seldom Never

Instructions: Please read the statements carefully and state your response by indicating a number against
each item, where

1 - Strongly disagree

2 - Disagree

3 – Neutral

4 - Agree

5 - Strongly agree

There is no right or wrong answers, so answer them frankly. Work as quickly as possible.

32
I am personally satisfied working at MindTree      
I go out with my family on weekends      
I take initiatives to participate in activities at MindTree      
I always go out of my way to help others      
My colleagues acknowledge my contribution towards social cause      
I reach out to people when in need      
I value people more than work      
I will do overtime to finish a job, even if I am not paid for it      
I live, eat and breathe my job always      
I would like to contribute for a social cause      
I feel the need to do something else apart from work      
I have no issues travelling long distances to contribute for a cause      
I prefer spending time with my family members when I am free      
I have seen self-growth from my participation in social cause      
I always contribute to a cause than to family commitments      
I feel satisfied helping others in my free time      
I am sociable person      
I always get so involved while helping others that I lose track of time      
In life, I consider my work as only a small part of who I am      
I can influence a social change      
I get easily stressed at work      
Charity for me is always giving time/money/sharing skill (underline any one)      
I reach a personal goal I have set for myself      
I prefer being a part of community development programs (professional/personal)      
I want to become a committed volunteer for a social cause      
If you want to become a volunteer for a social cause, specify your area of interest

33
Rank 3 areas of social cause you feel most passionate to work for

o Betterment of the poor

o Education
o Environment
o Health and medical
o Specific populations
 Women and girls
 Gay and lesbian
 Children
 Elderly
 Homeless
 Disabled
 Other special population (specify)

MindTree is authorised to use this checklist designed by Ms.Meena Jain, Ms. Amrita Rao,
Ms. Asha Venkatesh, Ms. Deepa BN, Mrs. Deepashree T.

Acknowledgement to the authors when using this checklist will be appreciated.

34
LIE SCORE DETAILS

10 out of 100 people(general sample)

2 out of 29 in the non volunteers sample
4 out of 29 in the volunteer sample
15 out of 81 (campus trainees)
and 4 out of 25 in the senior exec sample
have a lie score above 20 which makes their data unreliable.

REMARKS

Few of the suggestions and comments given by the employees while collecting data

 Few employees suggested that if they are provided with conveyance facilities, they would
be more willing to participate in the volunteer programs
 One of the reasons for drop in the number of volunteers is the language barrier
 As told by a volunteer- Unexpected changes in the schedule of the programs, for eg due
to visits by politicians in the schools where programs are conducted is a reason that
demotivates an individual to participate in the next session.
 As banks and other government offices are open only for half a day on Saturdays, people
give more importance to paying their bills and other personal priorities than volunteering.

35