Volunteering - A review

The "honorary" office is an important, often forgotten part of unpaid work. It is the subject of controversial debate within the social left. In 2016, for example, the Medibüro Berlin pointed out in its campaign "Es ist uns keine Ehre" (It's no honour for us) that the Medibüros do a makeshift job that should be organised by the state, but that their care for people without health insurance is nevertheless essential. Silke van Dyk and Tine Haubner then systematised the idea that the structural carelessness of capitalism is supported by voluntary work as "community capitalism" (1). Conversely, Gabriele Winker (2) showed how much "voluntary work" refers to the desire for meaningful work that is orientated towards human needs. Finally, Silke Helfrich and David Bollier demonstrated in their seminal book 'Fair, Free and Alive'(3) how organisational alternatives to capitalist economies also emerge in shared, unpaid work.

In her article,Viola Schubert-Lehnhardt presents the book 'Ehrenamt' by Alexandra Hilkenmaier, which contributes to this debate. Thank you very much!

Alexandra Hilkenmeier: Volunteering

Verlag Kremayr & Scherlau Vienna 2026, ISBN 978-3-218-01512-7, 135 p.

The author has been a volunteer for many years - in the Austrian Youth Red Cross, the Federal Youth Council, the European Forum Alpbach and a voluntary service in Ghana. She therefore reflects extensively on her own personal experiences as well as on the European structures of this commitment. The text therefore contains personal stories, food for thought and international comparisons. The central question is: Does volunteering always have to be the solution or is it not often used to save costs?

Firstly, the concept of volunteering is considered from different perspectives. Only clarity about this term enables a fair discussion about motivation, recognition and appreciation in voluntary work. Volunteering is based on five classic factors: voluntary, unpaid, co-operative, non-profit and in the public sphere. It is divided into formal and informal volunteering: formal is where there is a certain organisational framework (e.g. in the voluntary fire brigade), informal is more flexible, more spontaneous without official membership. There are interfaces with care work, but the two are not the same. Care can be voluntary, but voluntary work is not always care. The biggest difference between the two, however, is that care work is not always voluntary because there is often no alternative.

A. Hilkenmeier goes on to describe the various areas of volunteering: rescue, fire brigade, disaster control, social and health care, education, art, culture, entertainment, church, sport, nature and animal protection, political commitment. There are clear gender differences in the individual areas: Women are more involved in social and church organisations. Another aspect is that you have to be able to afford to do voluntary work. "Only those who can cover their basic needs without too much effort have the freedom to use their remaining time and energy for others."

The author takes a detailed look at the motivation for volunteering and, in particular, volunteering in so-called developing countries. The starting point is often a thought pattern that has been communicated for years, namely that the countries of the Global South are "in need of help" and that people from the Global North can participate in the "development" of these countries. In addition, the focus is not on the needs of the local population, but on the experiences of the "helpers". "Volunteering becomes a personal journey, an adventure with added moral value and also enhances your CV". A key problem is that volunteers can rarely be criticised for their behaviour or mistakes due to the privilege system (they are guests in the country). Volunteers are often not even aware of the thought patterns or the "paradox of helping" (partly due to a lack of preparation by the sending organisations and insufficient personal reflection on the political situation).

In Germany, too, too little attention is paid to the fact that there are downsides to this commitment - especially when volunteers take on activities free of charge that were originally carried out by paid employees.

The book invites us to take a closer look, to talk about volunteering in a more nuanced way, to be more alert, more self-critical and at the same time not suspicious of its beautiful aspects.

Literature cited in the introduction:

1) Van Dyk, Silke; Haubner, Tine: Community-Kapitalismus. Hamburg Edition 2021

2) Winker, Gabriele: Solidarity-based care economy. Revolutionary Realpolitik for Care and Climate. transcript 2021

3) Helfrich, Silke; Bollier, David: Free, fair and alive. The power of the commons. transcript 2019