prosocial programs Archives

Many corporations believe that societal improvement is an essential measure of business performance. Businesses use prosocial programs to boost employee morale, increase retention rates, and attract new talent.

Societal improvement is important for employees who seek a higher purpose in life. According to the UnitedHealth Group’s Doing Good is Good for You: 2013 Health and Volunteering Study, 76% of people studied said that volunteering made them feel healthier and identified volunteering as a health benefit.

An employee’s volunteer work is also good for the businesses they work for! Volunteering improves employees’ physical and mental well-being and helps them develop leadership as well as soft skills. Employees appreciate companies that initiate, support or become involved in their volunteerism.

The CECP’s annual Giving in Numbers report is an analysis of 2012 corporate giving data from 240 Fortune 500 companies, including 60 of the largest on the Fortune 500 list.

Facts from the 2013 Report About the Companies Surveyed Inlcude:

Direct cash donations dominated at 47% of total giving
Median total giving in CECP’s sample was $20 million
Since 2008, non-cash contributions grew at a rate of 10% or more each year
K-12 and Higher Education was the most funded program area for all respondents
70% of the companies surveyed offered paid-release-time volunteer programs
Forty percent of companies expect giving to increase from 2012 to 2013
Companies headquartered in the American Northeast are most likely, on average, to offer a domestic Paid-Release-Time volunteer program.

Employers can promote their employee’s altruism and cultivate happy, engaged employees while also serving the community. Corporations find many ways to participate in prosocial programs including matching employees regular gift giving, disaster relief gift giving, organizing days of service, paying employees for service with a 501(c)(3) organization during a normal work day, giving pro bono professional services

A study published by the Harvard University Behavioral Research Ethics Board showed that prosocial bonuses in the form of donations to charity lead to happier and more satisfied employees.

Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior that is meant to benefit someone else. Examples include assisting others, sharing, donations of any type, cooperative behavior, and volunteering regardless of motivation. A prosocial bonus is bonus compensation given to an employee that can only be used as a donation to a charity. The employee does not receive any money.

A sample of 133 participants reported their gender, age, and salary via a survey. They also ranked their happiness and job satisfaction on a 5-point scale (1: very slightly or not at all to 5: extremely).

Employees were randomly assigned to one of the three groups:
1. A prosocial bonus in the form of a charity voucher worth $25
2. A prosocial bonus in the form of a charity voucher worth $50
3. A control group

Participants were allowed to donate the voucher to a charity of their choice on a website. Almost half of the employees donated their voucher on the day they received it. The remaining vouchers were donated within 2 weeks. Employees again ranked their happiness and job satisfaction immediately after donating

The employees immediately ranked their job satisfaction. also ranked their job satisfaction. Employee responses indicated an increase happiness and job satisfaction. Increases were higher in the group given the $50 voucher.

This experiment was repeated to measure the change in sports and sales team performance with similar results.

Societal Improvement Is Important For Employers

Donations to charity lead to happier employees