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Psychosocial factors influencing service duration among elderly Chinese voluntary workers in Hong Kong
Date Issued
2003
Citation
Cheung, F. Y. L., & Tang, S. K. (26-29 Jul 2003). Psychosocial factors influencing service duration among elderly Chinese voluntary workers in Hong Kong. 5th Australian Industrial & Organizational Psychology Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
The'ever-increasing urge of social service and the reduc-tion of social welfare expenditure from the government place a heavy demand on volunteerism. The investigationof factors that affect volunteers' service duration is thuscrucial, especially for nonprofit making organisations. Elderly retired people provide an invaluable pool of volun-tary workers, as most societies are rapidly aging. In the present study, demographic characteristics, health status, and psychosocial and work-related variables were used to predict different spans of service duration among 335 elderly Chinese voluntary workers. Results of hierarchal regression analyses showed that perceived benefit s of voluntary work were the most salient predictor for expected short- and long-term service, even after controlling for theeffects of demographic characteristics and health status. Satisfaction with voluntary work could also predict expected short-term service. Furthermore, health status (especially current level of psychological distress) mediated the associations between work-related variables and expected service duration. Strategies based on these findings will be discussed to increase the retention of elderly voluntary workers.
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