The Experiences of Retired Managers Acting as Volunteers in an Entrepreneurial Mentoring Organization

Voluntary male mentors' lived experience of social engagement with men in their community

Men volunteering to mentor other men is a growing form of social engagement in Australia. Masculine norms associated with not disclosing emotional distress or discussing loneliness are often set aside by participating in these one-to-one relationships. Mentors have reported improvement in their well-being and a desire to contribute more. In this phenomenological study, which draws on hermeneutic methodology, 12 men who voluntarily met and mentored another adult man for a minimum of 6 months participated in a semi-structured interview. Findings showed non-judgement and deep listening facilitated a rewarding and personally developmental relationship. Most voluntary mentors experienced substantial changes in their masculine views, particularly with the regard to trust and openness with others. This experience has implications for men realising their ability to engage others and for community well-being.

A scoping review of voluntary male mentoring: Themes to connect adult men

In contemporary western cultures, such as Australia, there is increasing reported social disconnection. This disconnection is associated with loneliness and for some suicide, particularly for men. Voluntary male mentoring organisations aim to socially connect and improve men's wellbeing through facilitating men's one-to-one relationships. As is the case with most people, men value someone with whom they may communicate openly and safely, as occurs in voluntary mentoring. However, there is limited research on voluntary male mentoring or the experiences of the participants. This scoping review of the literature from voluntary adult male mentoring thematically synthesises the reported narratives from mentors. A systematic search was undertaken of five academic databases on voluntary adult male mentoring for scholarly articles in English. Additionally, the returned articles had their references reviewed for relevant authoritative reports and publications. After duplicates were removed, there were 471 publications. Sources included publications from humanities, social science, psychology and the health sciences. Once screened for eligibility this number was reduced to 29 publications. A thematic synthesis of the literature found the concepts of intentional relationship, journey and mutual growth were present. The implications of these findings are that men in community settings, informed by the experience of voluntary mentors, may be prepared to engage with other men. Additional research on the lived experience of mentors may offer further insights into facilitating male connection.

Older age as a time to contribute: a scoping review of generativity in later life

Research on later-life generativity has promoted a new view of older persons that, far from the traditional images of disability, dependence and frailty, recognises their capacities, and potential to continue growing, while underlining their participation and contributions to families, communities and society. The goal of this study was to carry out a scoping review on later-life generativity, the first one conducted on this topic as far as we know, to show how studies in this area have evolved, which aspects of generativity in later life have been studied, and the methodological and epistemological approaches that are dominant in this area of inquiry. Our scoping review shows that research into generativity in later life has grown steadily over the past 30 years, and particularly during the last decade. However, our results also show how such growing interest has focused on certain methodological approaches, epistemological frameworks and cultural contexts. We identify four critical gaps and leading-edge research questions that should be at the forefront of future research into generativity in later life, gaps that reflect biases in the existing literature identified in the study. These are classified as methodological, developmental, contextual and ‘dark-side’ gaps.

Breaking the win-win narrative: The dark side of older people's political participation

Studies on older adults' civic engagement have been dominated by a win-win narrative, which assumes that the activity is beneficial both for the individuals involved and for communities. However, civic engagement may also be a source of negative experiences. The aim of this study was to understand these experiences in greater depth through an analysis of older Spanish activists' narratives of negative episodes of political participation. We also aimed to contribute to the methodological literature on narrative research by highlighting the strengths of analysing not just the content but also the structure of older people's stories. Life story interviews were carried out with 40 members of Spanish political organisations aged between 65 and 86 years old. As part of the interview, they were invited to narrate a negative event related to their stories of political participation. Answers were analysed both for their content (using thematic analysis) and for their structure (using Christopher Booker's plot typology). Participants recounted many negative experiences of political participation, which challenged the win-win master cultural narrative around civic engagement. These stories, which often reflected Booker's plots of 'tragedy', 'overcoming the monster', 'the quest', and 'redemption', recorded political defeats, conflicts with other members in the organisation, feelings of loneliness associated with engagement, and undesired consequences for relatives and friends. The results highlight the importance of providing a more nuanced understanding of what it means to be politically engaged in later life. This understanding would integrate the positive aspects assumed by the master win-win narrative with others that clearly challenge its assumptions.

Motivations for volunteering time with older adults: A qualitative study

Improved health, wellbeing and quality of life are associated with older adults living well at home. Enabling older adults to remain at home requires organisations to consider different workforce models to support these initiatives. Volunteers are often used by organisations providing such services. However, given the changing nature of the volunteer industry, volunteer recruitment and retention practices must be better understood. This study sought to understand individuals’ motivations to volunteer in aged care home support. Eighteen volunteers were recruited from not-for-profit aged support organisations in Perth, Western Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and five themes were thematically interpreted: What’s Important to Me?, Learning and Growth, Somewhere to Belong, Meet Me in the Middle, and Not Just a Number. Fulfilling volunteers’ desires for interest, social connection, self-growth, recognition, and support appeared conducive to positive volunteering experiences. These findings may suggest avenues to capture and retain volunteers in aged care home support.

A state-of-the-art review of the socio-ecological correlates of volunteerism among older adults

The health and social benefits of volunteering behaviours by older adults are well acknowledged. However, few review articles have been concerned with the correlates/dimensions of older adults’ volunteerism. Some focused only on the North American context or reviewed studies only up to 2008. This study reviewed the recent global literature in the past decade about the correlates of older adults’ volunteerism. We carried out a literature search in PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Google Scholar to identify empirical journal publications about the correlates of older adults’ (age 60+) volunteerism from 2008 to 2019. Among 112 initially eligible papers, 41 were selected. Findings were synthesised using the framework of the Socioecological Model. Existing studies mainly have used quantitative methodologies and were conducted within the context of a single Western country. Motivations included higher education, morale and mentality, previous experiences, social network, community cohesion and organisational management. Major barriers were health and financial constraints. Few studies focused on macro-level correlates. Irrelevant and confounding correlates were also discussed. We suggest practitioners recruit and retain older volunteers by identifying their needs and optimising management within the organisation. Policy makers should create a supportive environment and increase resource accessibility. Future research could conduct cross-cultural comparisons, use diverse methodologies and embrace more correlates, especially at the macro-level.