‘Extra hands’ or the ‘icing on the cake’? The boundaries of the volunteer role in formal care settings in England

The adult social care sector in England has been encouraged to increase the role of volunteers in service delivery. To understand the volunteer role in care delivery and its impact upon paid care work, we undertook 94 qualitative interviews in seven care settings for older people in England. While the boundaries between care worker and volunteer were clearly established in some organisations, they were more indistinguishable in others. We discuss how both clear and murky boundary making, especially regarding ‘emotional’ and ‘bodily’ aspects of care, can contribute towards paid care work’s invisibility, lack of recognition and poor remuneration.

[1]  S. Charlesworth,et al.  Relationship-Based Care Work, Austerity and Aged Care , 2021, Work, Employment and Society.

[2]  A. Cameron,et al.  Exploring the role of volunteers in social care for older adults , 2020, Quality in Ageing and Older Adults.

[3]  Anthony Kevins,et al.  Bonus or Burden? Care Work, Inequality, and Job Satisfaction in Eighteen European Countries , 2019, European Sociological Review.

[4]  Marianne S Skinner,et al.  Challenges in the coordination of volunteer activities in long-term care services , 2019, International Journal of Care and Caring.

[5]  Angela M. Eikenberry.  Discourses of Volunteering and Civic Action in the USA , 2019, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations.

[6]  Kirstie McAllum.  Volunteers as Boundary Workers: Negotiating Tensions Between Volunteerism and Professionalism in Nonprofit Organizations , 2018, Management Communication Quarterly.

[7]  E. Tonkens,et al.  Reconstructing the professional domain: Boundary work of professionals and volunteers in the context of social service reform , 2018 .

[8]  Marianne E van Bochove,et al.  Moving Away, Toward, and Against: How Front-line Workers Cope with Substitution by Volunteers in Dutch Care and Welfare Services , 2018, Journal of Social Policy.

[9]  J. Hermansen,et al.  Volunteer care workers: A case for challenging resource theories on volunteering , 2018 .

[10]  J. Shields,et al.  Filling the gaps: Unpaid (and precarious) work in the nonprofit social services , 2017 .

[11]  J. Manthorpe,et al.  Changes in turnover and vacancy rates of care workers in England from 2008 to 2010: panel analysis of national workforce data. , 2016, Health & social care in the community.

[12]  I. Cunningham,et al.  'If I had a family, there is no way that I could afford to work here': juggling paid and unpaid care work in social services , 2015 .

[13]  H. Gospel.  Varieties of Qualifications, Training, and Skills in Long-Term Care: A German, Japanese, and UK Comparison , 2015 .

[14]  C. Overgaard.  The boundaries of care work: a comparative study of professionals and volunteers in Denmark and Australia. , 2015, Health & social care in the community.

[15]  F. Chinegwundoh,et al.  The BME third sector: marginalised and exploited , 2015 .

[16]  Eleanor K. Johnson.  The business of care: the moral labour of care workers , 2015, Sociology of health & illness.

[17]  Rebekah M. Zincavage,et al.  “It's Like a Family” , 2007 .

[18]  V. Braun,et al.  Using thematic analysis in psychology , 2006 .

[19]  Jill Manthorpe,et al.  An International Review of the Long-Term Care Workforce , 2005, Journal of aging & social policy.

[20]  C. Stacey,et al.  Finding dignity in dirty work: the constraints and rewards of low-wage home care labour. , 2005, Sociology of health & illness.

[21]  D. Baines.  Caring for Nothing , 2004 .

[22]  Peter Hoad.  Drawing the line: the boundaries of volunteering in the community care of older people. , 2002, Health & social care in the community.

[23]  Julia Twigg,et al.  Carework as a form of bodywork , 2000, Ageing and Society.

[24]  G. Lee-Treweek.  Women, Resistance and Care: An Ethnographic Study of Nursing Auxiliary Work , 1997 .

[25]  A. Cameron,et al.  The contribution of volunteers in social care services for older people , 2021, Voluntary Sector Review.

[26]  A. Armenia,et al.  Paid Care Work around the Globe: A Comparative Analysis of 47 Countries Prepared for UN Women , 2019 .

[27]  B. Anderson,et al.  Migration and Care Labour , 2014 .

[28]  Peter J. Smith.  The Emotional Labour of Nursing Revisited , 2012 .