The Motivational Psyche of Volunteerism Across Generations

People are driven to act in certain ways to achieve certain goals that would improve their own condition or the welfare of others, and engaging in volunteer activities is their way of achieving these goals. It is widely acknowledged as a significant source of fulfillment, socialization, and emotional and psychological enhancement throughout a person's life. This study described the motivational psyche of volunteerism across generations. Specifically, it addressed the following issues: the demographic profile of the respondents; the perceived motivations of the volunteers to participate in volunteer activities in terms of empathy, fulfillment, affiliation, power, and incentive; and the significant difference between the motivations of the volunteers to participate in volunteer activities when grouped according to generation. To answer these objectives, 130 volunteers from Lucena City are purposely selected as respondents in this study. Consecutively, the use of the quantitative-descriptive method was utilized to describe the motivational psyche of the volunteers from four generations by measuring their motivation using a survey questionnaire with a 4-point Likert Scale that was administered personally and online using google forms. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, weighted average mean (WAM), and ANOVA. The results revealed that among the generations, Gen Z has the most number of volunteers, and empathy and fulfillment are the most common motivations of the volunteers to join in volunteerism. Furthermore, the study also revealed a significant difference between generations and motivations in terms of empathy and incentive.