London firms tap volunteering to boost wellbeing and productivity

A new wave of workplace volunteering is quietly reshaping how London based businesses are approaching productivity and employee wellbeing.

New research commissioned by national charity Royal Voluntary Service found 70% of firms in the region now offer paid volunteering time to staff, with 29% introducing it in the last 12 months alone. In fact, London firms secured the top spot in relation to
employee volunteering. More businesses in this region offer volunteering programmes than anywhere else.

The data suggests this uplift in volunteering amongst London’s business community is being driven by a desire to tackle employee burnout (31%), engage staff (27%) and boost performance (27%), as well as to deliver social impact – 89% of businesses in the region
agree volunteering is important2 to their company purpose and ESG goals.

1000 UK companies were questioned for the study, with the findings published in a new report:
Untapped
impact: unlocking the 140 million hour opportunity.

The report also features new analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which reveals that increasing participation in employee volunteering could also generate substantial financial gains3.

Cebr’s analysis suggests the UK economy could stand to benefit from productivity gains worth £32.5 billion each year, or £5,239 per employee working in professional and managerial occupations – if workplace volunteering days were fully utilised The study stresses
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.

However, despite the momentum, across all regions, 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 unused4
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, Royal Voluntary Service has unveiled a new
Volunteering
Marketplace – 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 £5 million investment from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. 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.

Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive, Royal Voluntary Service, said: “Employee volunteering programmes are fast becoming one of the smartest investments a business can make. As our research shows, those who do it are seeing great results – from
improved staff wellbeing and motivation to increased productivity.

“If just some of those 140 million lost volunteering hours were used it could be transformational in its effect. With our new Volunteering Marketplace we will help unlock that potential – making volunteering work for more businesses and their employees
and enabling them to click and connect to the causes they care about.”  

Chris Breen, Head of Economic Insight at Cebr, added: “Business leaders and employees alike may wonder what’s in it for them when it comes to volunteering. Our research shows the answer is quite a lot. If every employee in a professional or managerial
role offered volunteer days actually used them, it would have resulted in a £32.5 billion boost to UK productivity in 2024 alone.”