Royal Voluntary Service: Employee Volunteering Could Add £32.5bn to UK Economy in Productivity Gains

The Untapped impact: unlocking the 140 million hour opportunity report also stresses that these productivity gains could be higher still if the voluntary efforts of those in other job roles were also considered and if paid volunteering time was offered to more employees. The Untapped impact: unlocking the 140 million hour opportunity report also stresses that these productivity gains could be higher still if the voluntary efforts of those in other job roles were also considered and if...

LONDON, 09/06/2025 (informazione.news - comunicati stampa - information technology)

The  report also stresses that these productivity gains could be higher still if the voluntary efforts of those in other job roles were also considered and if paid volunteering time was offered to more employees.

And businesses are taking note. A survey of 1000 UK companies found that for many volunteering has become more than an ESG initiative – it's a strategic lever for performance.

The research found 62% of firms surveyed now offer paid volunteering time to staff, with over a quarter of businesses introducing it in the last 12 months alone. This surge is being driven by a desire to tackle employee burnout (34%), re-engage staff (30%) and boost performance (25%), as well as to deliver social impact – 87% of businesses agree volunteering is important to their company purpose and ESG goals.

Yet despite the momentum, most companies are not realising the full potential of their volunteering programmes. Employers offer an average of 2.3 days annually, but the study showed more than 140 million hours of gifted time went unused last year. Additionally, not all employees are being given equal access to volunteering opportunities - less than one in five (19%) firms with programmes offer it to all their employees. On average, just half of employees receive the benefit.

Reasons businesses cited for not realising the potential of programmes included a lack of flexible one-off volunteering opportunities (28%) and team activities (17%), difficulty finding the right roles (21%), and not knowing where to start (12%).

Unlocking the millions of unused hours could breathe new life into civil society at a time when volunteering is in decline and demand on charities hits new highs. In response,    – a suite of services designed to help businesses build, embed and optimise their volunteering and social impact activities. The offer will include bespoke programme design, measurement and reporting, expert consultancy and digital badges to recognise success.

At the heart of the charity's Volunteering Marketplace, is a new digital volunteering platform, currently in development thanks to a . Set to launch later this year, the platform is designed to remove barriers to volunteering for all – offering thousands of flexible, inclusive roles to suit modern working patterns.

For businesses, it will offer an end-to-end solution: matching staff to relevant opportunities, making volunteering easier to manage, and enabling organisations to track participation and impact. Subscription-based, the platform aims to become the UK's largest digital volunteering community – one that works for businesses, causes and volunteers alike. It will be free for charities and the public to use.

The new platform and Volunteering Marketplace build on Royal Voluntary Service's proven ability to mobilise volunteers at scale as seen during the pandemic.

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For more information visit:  www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk .

 

 

 

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