TashJGirl

I believe that volunteering is an important part of someone’s life, if that person believes in it. I also believe that it should be private and anonymous. What I dislike is when this volunteering comes from your place of employment. Specifically, I feel that if there is some sponsored/approved volunteering activity, it should be low-key. I’ve worked in some large companies and smaller ones. The large companies tend to have spans of weeks where there are activities and solicitation of money for charities go on. In one company, I was told that it would reflect poorly on annual reviews if people didn’t participate in these volunteering activities. At that point, to me, they stop being “volunteering” activities and more like “forced labor” or “networking opportunities”. I strongly disagree with this.

This year, I’ve been asked to volunteer as solicitor for a campaign for a charity. I think it should be telling to those who ask that if a person hasn’t signed up to volunteer, then there are reasons for it. And if you ask someone to volunteer, that person might not feel like he or she has an option to decline.
I feel very hypocritical about this whole. Here I am asking people to do something when I don’t think I have a right to even ask them. How people spend time and money outside of work is up to them and I feel that employers shouldn’t mix the two. I think information should be provided and if people feel compelled, they will donate either money, or time, or both. But employers shouldn’t devote the time and energy of their employees for soliciting such donations.
So why did I agree? I feel that I didn’t really have an option to decline. There is no positive for me by declining. I also looked at it as something to put as an activity I participated in for my annual review.