New research out today by CSV Make a Difference Day and Barclays reveals how nearly half (42%) of companies who allow their staff time off work to volunteer say it helps reduce staff sick days (published Wednesday 13th September).

The survey of companies, who cumulatively employ over 230,000 staff, also reveals that one in six employees feel healthier and take fewer days off sick since taking part in employee volunteering programmes.

The research, which builds on findings from 2005, also looks at how employee volunteering helps with recruitment, retention and staff morale.

Key findings include:

  • 92% of employees say that they would prefer to work for a company with an employee volunteering project than one that doesn’t

  • 90% of employees feel that employee volunteering has improved staff morale

  • Around 59% of employees feel volunteering makes them feel more energised and productive at work.

  • 42% say they are less likely to leave a job where there is an employee volunteering scheme

The survey also questioned employers’ perception of the benefits of volunteering. All the representatives of the companies surveyed felt that volunteering helps staff morale and with recruitment.

Additionally;

  • 85% of employers feel employee volunteering helps with productivity.

  • 28% of employers feel that employee volunteering helps with staff retention

Alastair Camp, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Barclays said: “These figures show how big business is really catching on to the virtues of volunteering. Billions of pounds are lost to the UK economy each year through absenteeism (2). Volunteering can help reduce the number of sick days and increase business productivity, as well as produce happier and healthier staff. Overall, the saving to business could be enormous. At Barclays, volunteering is a core part of our culture – in 2005, over 26,000 Barclays employees took part in fundraising or volunteering community activities, which we believe has a knock-on, positive impact on our own business.”

Expanding on last year’s research, the survey also asked whether employee volunteering helps people get more involved with their community outside of work. Around 73% of employees involved in volunteering programmes say they are now more active in their communities. All employers feel employee volunteering contributes to wider community involvement by their staff.

CSV Make a Difference Day manager, Claire Ghoussoub said: “These figures reflect other research we have done which shows that 63% of people who take part in the CSV Make a Difference Day campaign had not volunteered before, but have since gone on to volunteer again. Both of these pieces of research shows that CSV Make a Difference Day is often the starting block to much wider community involvement in the future.”

The most popular form of volunteering is supporting young people. Around 39% of respondents say they want to volunteer to help young people with numeracy, career options or mentoring. This was closely followed by environmental work. Around 35% of respondents say they want to help improve the environment through volunteering.

Further results reveal:

  • 3% say they would like to volunteer in hospitals
  • 7% say they would like to volunteer with young offenders
  • 8% say they would like to volunteer with homeless people
  • 8% say they would like to volunteer with the elderly

Environmental volunteering is more popular with men than women. Around 49% of men would like to volunteer to improve the environment, compared to just 29% of women. Women seem to prefer working with both the young and old. Supporting young people was the most popular choice with women, generating 43% of the votes. Another 16% of female respondents say they would like to work with elderly people. This compares to just 4% of men.

“It’s really encouraging to see so many people dedicated to supporting young people and improving the environment,” Ghoussoub continued. “However we would also like to encourage more public sector employers open their doors more widely to increase volunteering opportunities in hospitals, prisons and social services. Provided with the right opportunities, companies could really change the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

CSV Make a Difference Day, which is supported by Barclays, is the largest single day of ‘hands-on’ volunteering in the UK and takes place on Saturday 28th October 2006. It aims to encourage 115,000 people to give time, including 160 companies.
For more information on taking part, visit www.csv.org.uk/difference or contact Karen Middleton on 020 7643 1433 or email kmiddleton@csv.org.uk.

ENDS

Further press information: Esther Freeman, CSV Make a Difference Day Press Office on 020 7812 0035 or email: efreeman@csv.org.uk Out of office hours: 07981 591150

Latest press releases: www.csv.org.uk/press

Notes for editors

1. The sample comprises of 104 employees and the representatives of the employers across 10 different companies. Companies surveyed include: Barclays, Abbey, Tridos, Reuters, Royal Bank of Scotland, UniLever, BAA, Deloitte, OPM and Prudential Property Management. Cumulatively the companies employ 233,000 people. The survey was conducted in July 2006 by the CSV Make a Difference Day campaign.

2. CBI / AXA Absence Survey, May 2006, showed that around £13 billion was lost to the UK economy in 2005

3. CSV Make a Difference Day takes place on Saturday 28 October 2006, and activities take part a week either side. Around 115,000 people are expected to give time rather than money to improve their local community. The campaign is organised by CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and supported by Barclays community investment programme and the Home Office Active Communities Directorate.

4. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Each year 195,000 people give 4.9 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. CSV trains 11,500 people of all ages.

5. Barclays PLC actively encourages employee involvement and provides direct support through its employee community programmes. These include paid time off in work time for volunteering, grants for group volunteering activities, matched fundraising and matched payroll giving.

6. In 2005, more than 26,000 Barclays employees around the world took advantage of the support available to them for their work in the community - to the benefit of more than 7,500 charities and community groups.

7. More than 10,000 Barclays employees took part in Make A Difference Day activities globally, including projects in Africa and Spain. Volunteering activity included mentoring, beach clearing, gardening and painting.

8. Barclays is taking its community investment responsibilities seriously - investing £39.1 million in 2005. The organisation focuses on the areas where it can use its knowledge and expertise to make the biggest difference to key social issues. In the UK, this includes programmes about money education, debt advice, financial inclusion and getting people into work. Barclays also strives to strengthen the local communities in which they operate, and are investing £30 million over three years in grassroots sport through Barclays Spaces for Sports.

9. For further information see social responsibility at http://www.barclays.com. Media enquiries contact: Jon Logie, Barclays PLC on 0207 116 6040.