• National Grid sponsors 25th anniversary national Volunteers’ Week
• Company highlights community, personal and business benefits of employee volunteering
• Pledges to double number of employees involved in community projects, charities and local good causes during work time
• Research among general public shows more than half of respondents admitted to having never done any voluntary work
Research commissioned by gas and electricity networks operator National Grid reveals fifty one per cent of respondents admitted to never having done any voluntary work.
But the company says volunteering brings new skills into the workplace, boosts employee motivation and enhances companies’ reputations.
On the eve of the 25th national Volunteers’ Week – sponsored by National Grid – the UK’s largest utility is so convinced by the benefits of volunteering that it has pledged to at least double the number of its employees who lend a helping hand to community projects, charities and local good causes over the next year.
Currently over ten per cent of its10,000-strong UK workforce are actively involved in volunteering in work time which amounted to 13,500 hours dedicated to volunteering in 2008/09.
Urging more of his staff to take up the challenge of volunteering, National Grid Chief Executive, Steve Holliday, said: “Not only is this the right thing for us to be doing, but we believe that everyone benefits from volunteering.
“The community benefits from being able to tap into the skills and enthusiasm of our workforce. Individuals learn so much from the experience and bring different skills back into the workplace. And National Grid benefits from having a motivated workforce who are proud to work for the company.
“At the moment, one in ten of National’s Grid’s employees take part in volunteering projects organised by the company in work time and I would like to see this doubled over the next twelve months.”
Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England said: “We very much welcome National Grid’s sponsorship of Volunteers’ Week and the company’s dedication to promoting volunteering among its employees.
“National Grid recognises the enormous benefits of volunteering, not just for the communities in which it works, but for the employees themselves and the wider business benefit.”
The research commissioned by National Grid for Volunteers’ Week also revealed that only one in ten respondents (11 per cent) is currently actively involved in volunteering.
More than a quarter of those surveyed (27 per cent) said they would consider volunteering if they lost their job in the recession and one in four (24 per cent) thought they would be more favourably regarded by a potential future employer if they did voluntary work.
The research also found that employers could boost the number of volunteers if they were prepared to offer time off to employees during work, but only one in eight (12.5 per cent) companies actively encourage staff to undertake, within reason, voluntary work during their paid working time.
Volunteers' Week is an initiative of the volunteer development agencies working across the UK: Volunteering England, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Volunteer Development Agency Northern Ireland and Volunteer Development Scotland.
Follow the Volunteers’ Week link for information about the agencies and for help on how to volunteer. (http://www.volunteersweek.org.uk/About+the+Week/whos-behind-it-.htm)
ENDS
Notes to editors
For further media information only, please contact Graham McQuarrie, National Grid Media Relations, on 01926 655273 or graham.mcquarrie@uk.ngrid.com
*The statistics quoted in this press release are from a survey of 1000 UK adults by tickbox.net undertaken between the 15th-18th May 2009.