A Closer Look at the Difference Between Public and Nonprofit Employees' Volunteering

Research generally reports that both public and nonprofit employees have higher levels of altruistic motivation, and attributes the difference in volunteering between these workers and for-profit employees to altruism. However, altruism may be limited in explaining the discrepancy in volunteering between public and nonprofit employees, as both groups are considered more altruistic than for-profit workers. Using the National Administrative Studies Project-III data, this study examines various individual characteristics and work contexts that may contribute to the differences in the rate of participation and intensity of volunteering by public and nonprofit employees. The results of the mediation test suggest that the value of job-related self-determination to an individual, membership in political organizations, and interaction with external actors between public and nonprofit employees result in gaps in volunteering. These findings go beyond the oversimplified altruism-nonprofit link and add evidence to the literature of "sector matters."