Get mental health boosts from volunteering
The positive effects of volunteering extend beyond the lives of the beneficiaries as volunteers often receive something too. But how far do the benefits go?
As previously published research has confirmed, it goes beyond the temporary high from having done a good turn. In fact, a strong link has been found between long-term volunteering and improved mental well-being — confirming the fact that we stand to gain when we take the time to help others.
A 2022 study titled “Volunteerism Among Older Adults in Singapore” was published by SMU’s Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA) and found some beneficial links between long-term volunteer efforts and a volunteer’s mental well-being, with this effect being stronger among older adults.
Benefits to the individual, as well as the collective
The study found that respondents who volunteered in the past year reported the highest levels of well-being, followed by those who had volunteered previously.
Other research has also shown that volunteering could create a stronger sense of community and connectedness; reduce the symptoms of depression; broaden social support networks; bestow a heightened sense of pride and empowerment and even contribute to greater overall life satisfaction.
Beyond these individual benefits, there have been other studies that have found that volunteering might also contribute to the overall good of society.
According to “The World Happiness Report 2024” by the Oxford Well-being Research Centre, when society is more benevolent, the people who are the least happy stand to benefit most. The study also noted that increased pro-social behaviours such as volunteering are connected to decreasing deaths of despair around the world.
These findings collectively suggest that acts of kindness, particularly volunteering, have the potential to uplift not just the individual volunteer, but also strengthen communities and uplift those in need.
A call to care
These were the highlights of a commentary recently published in The Straits Times by Steve Loh, Executive Director of the SMU Lien Centre for Social Innovation.
In the commentary, Mr Loh shared how his personal volunteering experiences had positively impacted his life and cited the findings of the study by ROSA.
Mr Loh also observed that the benefits of volunteering extend beyond individual well-being to contribute to a more cohesive and caring society, sharing how heartened he was to see efforts in this area. He said: “Today, it is more than heartening to see our government, academic institutions and corporations encourage volunteerism.
“For example, Singapore Management University sees every undergraduate fulfil service stints, while companies increasingly offer leave for their staff to volunteer. Corporate Social Responsibility abounds, as well as ground-up initiatives with an estimated 450 activities island wide.”
Mr Loh closed his commentary with a call to action, encouraging individuals to consider volunteering as a meaningful way to support both mental health and community well-being.
“As due consideration is given to strategies to tackle mental health challenges and improve overall well-being, one could consider giving of oneself outwardly, and perhaps, inwardly, find themselves better for it.”
See also: The boost to mental health from volunteering | SMU Newsroom
