title: Busy yet socially engaged: volunteering, work-life balance, and health in the working population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the relationship between volunteering and health in the overlooked yet highly engaged working population, adopting a contextualizing balance approach. We hypothesize that volunteering may function as a psychosocial resource, contributing to work-life balance and, ultimately, health.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 746 Swiss workers participated in an online survey; 35% (N = 264) were additionally volunteers in a nonprofit organization. We assessed volunteering, work-life balance perceptions, paid job demands, and resources and health outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for job characteristics, volunteering was associated with less work-life conflict, burnout and stress, and better positive mental health. Results further revealed that balance perceptions partly explained the relationship between volunteering and health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Volunteering, albeit energy and time-consuming, may contribute to a greater sense of balance for people in the workforce, which might, in turn, positively influence health.
authors: From the Department of Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich (Mr Ramos and Dr Wehner), and Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich (Mr Ramos, Dr Brauchli, and Dr Bauer), Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Romualdo
authors: R
authors: Ramos
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Brauchli
authors: Georg
authors: G
authors: Bauer
authors: Theo
authors: T
authors: Wehner
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Hämmig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D058992:Social Participation; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology