Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain

Volunteering work has played a major role in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Studying volunteering behavior is interesting because it holds many important lessons for businesses to attract and engage their primary stakeholders (employees and customers) and counter the challenges posed by...

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Main Authors: Debashish Sengupta, Dwa Al-Khalifa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/2/65
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author Debashish Sengupta
Dwa Al-Khalifa
author_facet Debashish Sengupta
Dwa Al-Khalifa
author_sort Debashish Sengupta
collection DOAJ
description Volunteering work has played a major role in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Studying volunteering behavior is interesting because it holds many important lessons for businesses to attract and engage their primary stakeholders (employees and customers) and counter the challenges posed by the pandemic. As women make up a large percentage of volunteers, understanding the relationship between motivation and women intending to take up volunteering work during crises is necessary—particularly in collectivist Islamic societies. The present study examined the motivations of young women in Bahrain to volunteer for RT-PCR testing and vaccination drives sponsored by the government during the pandemic. The study also examined the effect of the volunteering experience on the lives of these women. The study was conducted using a mixed qualitative method that included focus groups and in-depth interviews. The research participants were millennial women who had undertaken volunteering during the pandemic. A few in-depth interviews were conducted with male volunteers to examine whether such motivations were influenced by gender. The findings of the research revealed normative, in addition to personal, motivators behind the act of volunteering, with a greater dominance of normative motivations such as the call of the homeland and philanthropy. The influence of the collectivist culture in shaping the normative motivations behind volunteering among these women was visible, and there was also an influence of religion and religious values.
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spelling doaj.art-e51467dba7b14e0dada4e4f82b9a93da2023-11-23T15:04:46ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872022-05-011226510.3390/admsci12020065Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in BahrainDebashish Sengupta0Dwa Al-Khalifa1College of Business and Financial Sciences, Royal University for Women, West Riffa 942, BahrainCenter for General Studies, Royal University for Women, West Riffa 942, BahrainVolunteering work has played a major role in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Studying volunteering behavior is interesting because it holds many important lessons for businesses to attract and engage their primary stakeholders (employees and customers) and counter the challenges posed by the pandemic. As women make up a large percentage of volunteers, understanding the relationship between motivation and women intending to take up volunteering work during crises is necessary—particularly in collectivist Islamic societies. The present study examined the motivations of young women in Bahrain to volunteer for RT-PCR testing and vaccination drives sponsored by the government during the pandemic. The study also examined the effect of the volunteering experience on the lives of these women. The study was conducted using a mixed qualitative method that included focus groups and in-depth interviews. The research participants were millennial women who had undertaken volunteering during the pandemic. A few in-depth interviews were conducted with male volunteers to examine whether such motivations were influenced by gender. The findings of the research revealed normative, in addition to personal, motivators behind the act of volunteering, with a greater dominance of normative motivations such as the call of the homeland and philanthropy. The influence of the collectivist culture in shaping the normative motivations behind volunteering among these women was visible, and there was also an influence of religion and religious values.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/2/65volunteeringwomenmillennialpandemicculture
spellingShingle Debashish Sengupta
Dwa Al-Khalifa
Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
Administrative Sciences
volunteering
women
millennial
pandemic
culture
title Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
title_full Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
title_fullStr Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
title_full_unstemmed Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
title_short Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during COVID-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain
title_sort motivations of young women volunteers during covid 19 a qualitative inquiry in bahrain
topic volunteering
women
millennial
pandemic
culture
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/2/65
work_keys_str_mv AT debashishsengupta motivationsofyoungwomenvolunteersduringcovid19aqualitativeinquiryinbahrain
AT dwaalkhalifa motivationsofyoungwomenvolunteersduringcovid19aqualitativeinquiryinbahrain