Work, life, and volunteering: Managing demands across the triple domains by young adults

Abstract

Addressing a long‐standing gap in the work‐life literature in identifying across‐domain implications of volunteering, this paper examines how individuals manage cross‐domain demands of work, life, and volunteering using twenty in‐depth interviews with young adults from Canada. Results revealed six distinct motivators for volunteering along the intrinsic‐extrinsic motivation spectrum, and the strategies adopted in managing the demands across the triple domains. Six categories align with the volunteer functional inventory (VFI), validating VFI and linking the functional analysis to motivation spectrum. The manuscript significantly adds to theory and practice by introducing the Matrix of Motivators and Resource Investment (MMRI), which identifies different volunteer types with the drivers for volunteering and resource prioritization. The study also highlights practical implications and future research directions.