*3.2. Volunteer Resilience Stemming from An Other-Directed Life Orientation*

Volunteers' other-directedness is characterised by being people-centred and having a religious orientation to life.

#### 3.2.1. Being People-Centred through Care, Compassion and Empathy

Volunteers unanimously report a strong people-centred orientation to life. This people-centredness is primarily rooted in an intrinsic desire to care for those in need. As described by PR1, this intrinsic need is inherent to her personality: "*I find that helping people is one of my, I don't know if I can call it a weakness or a* ... *because I can give what I have and remain with nothing by helping someone*". This seems to suggest that the needs of others are more important than her own, illustrating how deeply ingrained and important this orientation is: "*I cannot live like this while others they are su*ff*ering outside. I rather use the small that I am having and do something*". Similarly, PR3 indicates that he has a "*heart for people. I like you know helping people in a way that I can. Ja (yes) if it means buy you food I will buy you food*" and also explains that he is "*the type of person who sort of you know wants to do something for the people you know*" because "*there is something inside of me that needs to do good*". Although a people-centred orientation to life is also inherent to PR3 s personality, he explains how it is further entrenched in him through his African values:

*"Among the Africans, when somebody has lost a spouse or a child, then we go there and then, you know by going there it is the same as saying "Listen, I am here if there be any need, I am willing to get involved", and they ask you to go and fetch water, they ask you to go and fetch wood and so forth. And during the circumstances of their mourning, then you provide some kind of help".*

Apart from an intrinsic need to care for others, having compassion is also central to the volunteer's people-centred orientation to life. PR4 says that "*I am a person that have sympathy and empathy with other people, you know, in their time of su*ff*ering*". PR5 s compassion, which is founded in experiencing her own suffering, drives her to ease the anguish of others spiritually: " ... *in my heart there was a, I don't know how to speak it, uh, a heart for that sick people because I come from there. I was so sick, I was feeling the love, to love them and show them that Jesus is the only way, there is no other way than Jesus*". Similarly, PR8 s compassion motivates her: " ... *but my spirit inside, I have got some, I have compassion with people, I want to encourage people with the words of God, you know*". Being compassionate enables the volunteers to provide a support system for the hospital patients. This entails for example P6 acting as a family member who can listen to their fears and just be a presence next to their hospital bed. Likewise, PR4 s compassion drives him to encourage and listen to the patients and give them hope: " ... *and sit down with them and just listen to them, listen to their fears or frustrations and things, and then you come there and you listen and you see in their eyes and you hear in their voice* ... *and just give them hope*".

Empathy also characterises the volunteer's people-centredness and it stems from their own experiences. PR2 who underwent a back operation, explains how she is able to understand the pain, suffering and difficulty the patients are feeling and experiencing because of her own medical history: *"* ... *when I get out of the 8 weeks, I will tell God 'I know now how the people in the NPO, in the hospital feel'. Because I cannot tell you I know how you are feeling if you are not going through this*". PR2 further mentions how she prays "*for everybody in this hospital, hospitals in the whole world because I know when I lay in the bed*

*how they are feeling*". Similarly, PR5 is also aware of what it entails to be a patient in the hospital: "*I come from there. I was so sick*". Additionally, PR7 not only understands what it feels like to be a patient, but also how volunteer services were valuable to her: "*I was at hospital five years back, and when I was in hospital there comes a pastor and talk with me about God, and said God is love, and I take that message and restore my, my soul*".

Being people-centred presents a unique other-directed orientation to life in general and presents as an intrapersonal strength or resource fundamental to the participants' resilience in this volunteering context. The establishment of a disposition for well-being in the volunteer, such a people-centredness, is based on being driven by one's care and compassion for others and the ability to feel empathy. The volunteer's other directedness is also exemplified by its focus on a higher spiritual source, as discussed next.

#### 3.2.2. Religiously Rooted and Focused on God

A profound religious attitude, namely, a belief in and commitment to God, seems to be at the core of the volunteer's positive adaptation. The volunteers' focus on God is apparent as they have made it explicit that their effort is directed towards God himself and that they conduct volunteering as a service to Him: "*I work for God. I did not work for me, I work for God, who created me*" (PR7) and according to PR5, "*to volunteer, I don't think it is a volunteer, it is just the work from God*". PR5 also indicates that "*I'm going to the hospital for the purpose of God, for the sick people*". PR2 further emphasises that "*I work for God, not for XXX, for God*". Similarly, PR4 sees volunteering as a "*service in the kingdom of God*".

The volunteers in this study were all specifically vocal about being directed by Christian principles and teachings. These engendered their serving behaviour, as explained by PR3: "*You know actually it's one of the Christian principles where Jesus says, "If you want to be number one, start by serving* ... *if you want to be number one, be a slave to everyone* ... *I have been created to serve and to do good work*". Similarly for PR6, to conduct service-oriented activities means to feel God's power flowing through him: "*I know that if I want to be anointed I need to give something, so I need to give my service, that is why I am giving my service voluntarily*". Christian practices and teachings furthermore direct the volunteers in their work role, as PR1 explains: "*There is something that I am relying on—it is the Bible. Most of the things that I do, I do according to the Bible*". Acts of worship such as prayer and ministry provide patients with hope and encouragement as described by PR8: "*I am going to encourage them with the words of God and pray*". PR2 recounts*: "* ... *and I sit on the chair next to her and I pray for her and I give her one scripture, and I read in the Bible for her and* ... *I ask her if I can lay my hands on her*". While volunteering, the volunteers express the virtue of love, which for them is central to Christianity: "*I am trying to practise the Bible, that is what I have to give out to the patients* ... *That love is to show them that there is a purpose for everything, there is an end out of everything*" (PR1). PR6 further explains that he tells the patients he loves them because "*when you start ministering you can see they need the love of God, because I believe Christianity is more about love than anything else*".

Although the volunteer's actions are predominantly focused on God and carried out in His service, signalling their commitment to Him, the volunteers also depend on God during times of difficulty, such as relying on Him for guidance to solve challenging problems faced in the workplace. This is noticeable in PR1 s explanation of dealing with a challenging patient while volunteering: "*You must ask God for a descending spirit that will help you to choose and to separate things and to do the right decision. So, sometimes when things like this are happening, I just ask God to help me how to come out of this or how to solve this*". In this way, God acts as a support resource, fostering the belief that they will be able to deal with the demands posed by life. PR5 has faith that God will assist her with the challenges she is experiencing: "*I see my children, don't have anything to eat or clothes, they said, mama (mom), we want money to go to school. I don't have money, I am not working but I trust God. Because we are living by God's grace, we are living by God's grace*". He (God) is further the source of the volunteer's strength and gratitude. PR2 explains that "*when I feel down, and I can say "I am not so bad", because the people in NPO in hospital is lying*

*down, they don't got legs, they have stomach cancer and everything you know. And then I say, 'thank you God that I can make a di*ff*erence, that you pick me up every morning'*".

In addition to being people-centred in a caring, compassionate and empathetic manner, other-directedness is evident in being rooted in and deriving strength from a strong religious attitude, in this study context, specifically, a Christian religion.

#### 3.2.3. Work that is a "Calling"

The volunteer's resilience is strengthened by a specific orientation to work, namely the need to conduct work that is regarded as a calling. This entails work that one is passionate about and intrinsically motived to do. Over and above their religious calling, this calling orientation to work specifically stood out in the narrative of PR1: "*being a volunteer I find that it is a calling. It is a calling and it is a passion*" which "*you will do it with passion and love*" and "*I found it being a calling like when you are called for something, when you are called for being a Pastor, when you are called to be a doctor, you are with that thing inside of you*". PR3 shares this view: "*I think it's a calling*". A calling work orientation is described as being passionate about your work or having an intense love for it: "*a calling it is like something that you have a passion. Something that you have love when you do it. You have that, you do it whole heartedly with love. That is why you will be able to come here without somebody giving you an allowance, compensation to come here. You come here voluntarily. You come here using your own time for someone's life*" (PR1). PR5 exemplifies her work passion by emphasising how much she "*love[s] this job. I love this job*". This type of calling work orientation stems from an inner desire and motivation on the part of the volunteer to conduct such work and is reflected in the words of PR3: "*[Y]ou see to be a volunteer, it springs from the heart*". In PR6 s explanation of how he started volunteering, he notes that volunteer work is intrinsically motivated: "*I wanted to volunteer, do the volunteer work but I never really have the volition, you know, if you know what I mean, I did not have the oomph to go and do it, because the passion was not ignited*" and how this changed for him to become a passion: "*but, from the time to 2012, when I came back from overseas, it was on my heart*".

Two of the volunteers related to being called by God to volunteer, linking their work orientation to a religious calling. PR6 said: "*So ja (yes), it was not until that one day I had a dream, it was a vision actually, in the morning, and God said to me go to XXX* ... *he said go and pray for the sick, and I went*". PR2 had a similar experience during her recovery from a back operation: "And I got a voice from God, go to NPO and do something for the sick people because they are laying in the bed and they can do nothing for themselves".

The volunteers' resilience is supported by the unique way in which they approach their work environment, that is, from a calling work orientation. A calling orientation presents a unique orientation to work that reflects an approach based on being intrinsically motivated to do work one has a passion for.

#### **4. Discussion**

This article set out to explore volunteers' psychological resilience from a salutogenic perspective. The findings highlight a characteristic predisposition or work-life orientation that supports and sustains positive adaptation as reflected in the will to continue volunteering.

In this study, volunteers from a low income context with limited material resources, portray a disposition or work-life orientation that is characterised by (i) a peculiar inner drive, (ii) an other-directedness and (iii) a "calling" work orientation. The three elements of their work-life orientation echo the sub-component dynamics of SOC and demonstrate how these dynamics are reflective of intrapersonal GRRs that promote and sustain their psychological resilience.

The first element of the volunteers' predisposition is their inner drive. The volunteers' unique inner drive is operationalised in their self-determined nature and autonomous agency as well as in a desire to be productive and useful. These intrapersonal characteristics are similar to volunteering studies that have linked autonomy orientation to engagement in pro-social activities, job satisfaction and intentions to sustain volunteer work [64,65]. Autonomy is also conceptually related to self-determination, independence, self-regulated behaviour and acting volitionally, according to one's own will [66–68]. Self-determination and autonomy are furthermore important for optimal functioning and well-being [69,70] and, therefore, proposed here as important GRRs in the psychological resilience of volunteers in this study.

Volunteers' inner drive reflects a predisposition to cognitively appraise difficult circumstances in a way that demonstrates a pervasive sense that life is comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. Their self-determination and autonomous agency support the SOC sub-component of *comprehensibility* in that volunteers take responsibility for their responses towards stressful stimuli in their external environment. Rather than blaming or questioning external forces, their appraisal of circumstances results in taking responsibility and acting decisively and of their own volition. Furthermore, the volunteers' innate desire to be productive and useful is related to the SOC sub-component of *manageability*. Responding to their circumstances by taking action shows that the volunteers believe in their capacity to meet life's demands. In being actively engaged and industrious through the volunteering work they do, volunteers confirm and build their self-efficacy and sense of feeling useful. This need to feel useful is fundamental to the volunteers' orientation to be productive and to contribute, and therefore also relates to the motivational aspect of SOC namely, *meaningfulness*.

The second element in the volunteers' predisposition, is their other-directedness. Having a life orientation directed towards servicing others or being in the service of religious beliefs and God, secondly also resemble the SOC components of *meaningfulness, manageability* and *comprehensibility*. In the data, their self-reflections and descriptions portray volunteers to be characteristically caring, compassionate and empathetic. This is congruent to studies showing that volunteers typically have pro-social personality characteristic such as other-oriented empathy and helpfulness which motivate them to volunteer [8]. The motivational effect of these characteristics is revealed in the dynamic that when enacting them, life is regarded as *meaningful*. Activities such as volunteering are therefore experienced as meaningful to engage in because the volunteer is then congruent to the authentic self. Their other-directedness also resemble the behavioural SOC sub-component of *manageability* as these characteristics provide intrapersonal resources that enable the volunteers to positively and actively respond to and act in their environment. Other-directedness thus seems to be a strength resource underlying psychological resilience in this study context, especially since expressing concern for the welfare of others, is directly related to psychological well-being [71] and empathy is considered a character strength [72]. Acting congruently to these pro-social traits, demonstrates volunteers' cognitive appraisal of their circumstances as *comprehensible*, because they do not shy away from difficulties. They rather engage in life, despite its difficulties, by creating opportunities in which they can authentically enact their other-directed character traits and needs. Their other-directedness is also pertinently rooted in being religious and focused on God. Believing in God and enacting the religious call to serve others provide the volunteers with the potential for innate well-being, as it fosters *meaningfulness* strength resources such as hope and gratitude. Other-directed characteristics such as caring, compassion, empathy and a religious belief system thus act as intrapersonal strengths or GRRs that enable the volunteer to remain resilient in the face of adverse circumstances.

Volunteers' psychological resilience is lastly rooted in the third element, namely a specific "calling" work orientation, which is conceptualised as having passion and an intrinsic motivation for the work. Volunteers with a religious identity (such as in this study context) have been shown to be motivated to volunteer as a way of following a calling [73]. Theory suggests that experiencing a calling to work results in positive effects such as work and life satisfaction, finding work meaningful, being more motivated and experiencing engagement with work [74]. Engaging in work that is aligned with a calling generally enhances well-being [75–77] and in this study context affirms the volunteers' SOC through *meaningfulness*. Loving the volunteer work they do and being passionate about it, shows that the volunteers find meaning in answering the call to volunteer. The call to volunteer is, however, not only experienced in terms of their religion. Volunteering is experienced in general as a deep internal motivation to find purpose and meaning in life.

Research generally confirms that volunteering contributes to well-being [14,17,27,78–80]. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by explaining the dynamic that builds the psychological resilience of volunteers. The unique disposition of volunteers described in this study context, predisposes the volunteer to appraise and respond to stressful life circumstances in a way that builds their psychological resilience and leads to active coping and positive adaptation. Having GRRs, being aware of them and having the ability to use them buffer the risk of poor mental health and distress [81]. In this sense, the act of volunteering may be regarded as an SRR which the volunteer accesses in order to congruently enact their intrapersonal character strengths. Research generally cites the characteristics and values of volunteers as aspects that motivate their decision to volunteer. From this study, understanding how volunteers sustain their well-being despite the difficult circumstances they work and live in, augments the unique person characteristics that underscore the motivation to volunteer—not as motivational factors per se, but as their innate well-being potential. Developing an understanding of the unique intrapersonal GRRs that enable volunteers to resile, may enable organisations and government to better manage and retain this valuable resource.

The small sample and qualitative nature of the study present with in-depth, rich and contextual understanding, yet the study is limited with regard to generalisation. Moreover, the study had an idiographic purpose and did not investigate the potential GRRs present in the organisational or societal context of the study. Future research should explore the resources required to facilitate volunteer well-being and specifically investigate possible developmental interventions to promote volunteer resilience.

#### **5. Conclusions**

Due to their non-profit service agreement, volunteers do not receive the same benefits as full-time employees. Although organisations spend some resources on their recruitment, training and management, this return on investment is too often overlooked [4]. Investing in the development and well-being of volunteers seems to be an area of need, especially in African contexts that are subject to limited resources and lower socio-economic conditions of volunteers. The findings of this study have several implications for investing in volunteer well-being, based on the premise that volunteers will extend their services in the longer term if they constructively cope with and positively adapt to their limited work circumstances. Whether or not one volunteers or gets paid for your services, endorsing your character strengths is directly related to higher job and life satisfaction and indirectly to greater well-being [82]. It is, therefore, proposed that organisations employing the services of volunteers create developmental opportunities to identify and endorse volunteer character strengths such as their pro-social nature, inner drive and need to work with passion and purpose.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualisation: A.B. and A.F.; methodology: A.B. and A.F.; data curation: A.F.; investigation: A.F.; formal analysis: A.B. and A.F.; validation: A.B.; resources: A.F.; writing—original draft preparation: A.F.; writing—review and editing: A.B. and A.F.; supervision: A.B.; project administration: A.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to acknowledge the NPO that allowed and enabled the study to be conducted as well as the volunteers who willingly participated and offered their stories. Without them the study would not have been possible.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

International Journal of *Environmental Research and Public Health*
