Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1498557
8 Manitoba The impact? Well, about 28 per cent of non-profits report that more staff are working more hours due to taking on work normally done by volunteers, with 21 per cent saying the extra workload is causing employee burnout. There are several reasons why volunteerism has dropped so significantly, notes El-Giadaa. "After going through the pandemic, people are out of the habit," she says. "Also, since the pandemic, volunteers are re-evaluating how much time they are donating. That means not being as busy as they were before so they can prioritize really meaningful volunteer work plus have a work-life balance." At the same time, people have also changed their mindset on how they want to volunteer. "They now want to do it for a cause that's important to them," she says. "They want to be more intentional with their time and to make a difference when they do commit their time to volunteering." Moreover, the demographic that volunteered at the highest rate prior to the pandemic is no longer coming out in the same numbers. "Pre-COVID, seniors were easily the highest number of volunteers," El-Giadaa says. "There are two reasons behind them not coming out as much as they used to: COVID is still around, so they 're nervous about that. They 're also around three years older, so they 're slowing down." Ashley Seymour, Volunteer Manitoba's executive director, adds there's another reason why fewer seniors aren't donating their time as freely to non-profit organizations. "They 're retiring later and working longer, often out of necessity. Many seniors now must work part-time to pay their bills with the increased cost of living." While that news is sobering from a volunteerism perspective, there is some good news: Canadian youth are now the most likely individuals to volunteer in Canada. However, their concept of volunteering is different from that of their parents or grandparents, says El-Giadaa. "Their concept of volunteering is getting involved in the project for a certain amount of time — starting it and seeing it through to the end," she says. "It's volunteering, but in a different, more non- traditional way." You gain new experiences, can network with people and can benefit from working in beautiful outdoor environments or with animals." — Gloria Dovoh, community relations co-ordinator " Continued from page 6 Continued on page 9 VOLUNTEER MANITOBA