There are three well known stages of retirement: the Go-Go years (late 50s to early 70s), the Slow-Go years (mid 70s-80), and the No-Go years (80s-90s). Of course, there is some variability for retirees depending on their physical health. Right now, I’m 72, exiting the Go-Go years. These years were ripe for a variety of volunteer roles.
When I retired at age 65, after licking my wounds caused by a stressful, unexpected retirement, I began looking for something meaningful to do. I wasn’t exactly cut out to be a volunteer, having spent my entire career in the helping profession of education. People-pleasers in those fields suffer from a concept called “compassion fatigue.”
Surprisingly, we share an inheritance for overly-caring behavior, and we are subject to burnout – not exactly the fuel needed for volunteering in retirement. I’ve written about this subject in my post, The Hamster Wheel of Former Helping Professionals.
Where Did I Look for Volunteer Positions?
Not being a fan for a sedentary life of solitude, I made myself available as a horticulture assistant, livestock worker, COVID vaccine contactor, food distribution worker, voter registrant, and retirement writer. Not surprisingly, I continued to develop my overly caring/burnout template post-retirement.
Since so many of the roles had a physical component, I found myself struggling, not with compassion fatigue, but with bodily fatigue (and still do)! I shared those travails in my post on Agebuzz.com, Volunteering: The Physical Challenge.
Why Volunteer?
Besides contributing approximately $33.49/hour for each volunteer hour, it is well known that volunteering is a ripe source for new friends, meaningful tasks, and calendar fillers for the retired. In addition, Trish Lockard, writing for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, finds that volunteering contributes to mental health in quantifiable ways: greater life satisfaction, more robust health, better self-confidence, pride, and improved self-identity.
In my recent seven plus years of volunteering with various organizations, I have been the recipient of experiences previously unavailable to me. I have been part of a world class garden, working as an equal among a platoon of trained professionals. I have shepherded new American citizens to become voters as a participant in their naturalization ceremony.
Also, I assisted a sheep shearer in his yearly spring duties, and I have acquired a respectable quantity of knowledge about the natural behaviors of those sheep and goats I feed each week. I have also worked alongside the families of mushroom workers displaced during the pandemic and was the recipient of a weekly Mexican lunch feast for my efforts in distributing food, diapers, and hygiene supplies.
All Is Not Rosy in the Volunteer World
I have found, just like in the world of employment, things can go south in volunteer positions. Of my seven nonprofit organizations, I am only involved in 3-4, and only two on a weekly basis. I have learned that the volunteer must practice self-care and regularly assess if a volunteer spot is a good fit.
The most important lesson to learn is that volunteer supervisors are stretched and not always in sync with older volunteers. Most likely volunteers are needed because of a lack of funds for paid employees. This means the volunteer supervisor has a full-time job and the added responsibility for volunteers. This can result in assigning tasks without proper training, support and communication. Also, the volunteer workload might be inappropriate for an older person, because the supervisor is much younger, and not aware of different generational physical limitations.
In addition, sometimes the volunteer has lost passion for the cause after working for an extended amount of time. Possibly, there were too few rewards for the effort, besides the obvious intrinsic value. Because of changing life issues, the time constraints for the position might not be workable, and most importantly, the older volunteer is aging each year, along with its inherent physical changes.
Volunteer Self-Care
Fenix_charity.eu offers some wonderful ideas for self-care while volunteering.
Most suggestions encourage self-reflection, such as taking breaks and setting boundaries around tasks and hours required. A regular check-in regarding feelings of joy vs. burnout is essential. Reaching out to others, such as staff or fellow volunteers, for support can be helpful in reconfiguring a volunteer situation.
A Balanced Approach
It was extremely challenging for me to assert myself in the volunteer realm. At the beginning of my retirement, I viewed these positions as “real employment.” I did not see any difference in my output as a volunteer and as an employee.
My views have changed radically, but only through negative experiences. At the garden, I went from one day/week outside-one day/week inside to one day/week inside only because of increasing outdoor temperatures, insects, futile tasks, and waning physical capabilities.
I left the food distribution rotation because of disagreement about how long this service should continue. I never returned to the county emergency position because of lack of support of the supervisor, and a physically inappropriate workstation.
Although I am still listed as a voter registration volunteer, I was bumped out at a crucial time because I overlooked renewing my yearly membership, and lots of newbies came in before the 2024 Presidential election to fill those slots.
I am now pleased with my retirement/volunteer balance. Previously, I never took a day off – volunteers are not given vacation days! Now, if circumstances align, I will take off a day to reboot. I no longer feel like a paid employee, and I respect my aging body. I haven’t had to make any grand pronouncements to my supervisors. As most organizations state frequently, “any amount of time one has to volunteer is greatly appreciated!”
Let’s Discuss:
Which volunteer position has been the most taxing to you and why? Have you had to make any adjustments in your volunteer positions? Do you have any advice to pass on to other volunteers?
