Volunteer Motivation Fulfillment and Well-Being

If volunteering is associated with higher well-being, why might this be? Published correlations may reflect the influence of volunteering on well-being or the influence of well-being on volunteering, or both directions of influence. Moreover, volunteer motivation may serve as a boundary condition, with other-oriented goals more positively associated with well-being than self-oriented goals. However, motive fulfillment has yet to be examined in this context. We surveyed 406 current volunteers, registered with Prolific, from selected English-speaking nations, 3 months apart, assessing volunteer motivations, personality, and four types of well-being at T1 and motive fulfillment and well-being at T2. We found that greater fulfillment of important other-oriented motives was significantly more positively associated with well-being at T2 than greater fulfillment of important self-oriented motives; results remained significant when controlling for personality and, largely, T1 well-being. We conclude that fulfilling important other-oriented goals in volunteer work is associated with higher subsequent well-being.