Volunteer care workers: a case for challenging resource theories on volunteering

Charlotte Overgaard*, Erik Petrovski, Jonathan Hermansen

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper challenges prevailing theories on volunteering which explain participation in volunteer work by the high capital resources of individuals (resource theories). Using care theory and focusing on volunteers working with the frail elderly, the sick and the dying, we ask whether resource theory is a suitable theoretical framework for this particular kind of unpaid work. With a 2012 Danish population survey, we find that care volunteering attracts lower-resourced individuals who are predominantly female. We use this finding to argue that resource theory is unhelpful in explaining this particular form of volunteering and to call for more theory development.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)153-172
    Number of pages20
    JournalJournal of Civil Society
    Volume14
    Issue number2
    Early online date4 Jun 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Keywords

    • care
    • gender
    • resource theory
    • volunteering

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