The 100 Million Hour Movement aims to double the amount of employee volunteering hours by the end of 2028.
A national initiative to boost flagging morale in UK workplaces while building community resilience is calling for more support for employee volunteering.
Spearheaded by Royal Voluntary Service, the 100 Million Hour Movement aims to double employee volunteering hours – from 50 million1 to 100 million – by the end of 2028, delivering major benefits to workplaces and communities.
Research for the campaign2 suggests a growing sense of malaise characterises much of the workforce in the East of England. Nearly half of workers (45%) in the region report their morale as ‘low’ or ‘neutral’ and over 1 in 5 (21%) admit it’s worsened in the past year.
A combination of factors are affecting morale, including workload pressures (29%), lack of recognition (24%), poor work–life balance (10%), cost cutting or salary freezes (19%) and a lack of purpose in work (9%).
However, continued division and challenges in communities are also playing a part: 38% of workers say this has affected workplace culture or team relationships. Nationally, this feeling is more prevalent among younger workers – rising to 64% of 18–24s and 58% of 25–34s.
The 100 Million Hour Movement aims to help raise morale and strengthen society through workplace volunteering, and in response to clear evidence of its many benefits.
For employers and their people, it’s a proven way to improve wellbeing, motivation, skills, confidence and connection – all factors that contribute to higher engagement and productivity at work.
Volunteering also strengthens communities by building resilience, connection and understanding between people from different backgrounds.
If more businesses and employers lean in, the potential for the UK is considerable, helping to close the three million volunteer shortfall3 that charities face amid rising demand for support.
Carole Urey, chief revenue officer, Royal Voluntary Service said: “The nation is under growing strain. People are feeling depleted and disengaged, with workplace morale declining and communities facing mounting pressures.
“Employee volunteering is a practical and effective way to respond to these challenges. Yet in many workplaces it’s still an overlooked resource. Millions of volunteering hours set aside each year go unused. It’s a wasted opportunity.”
“We’ve launched the 100 Million Hour Movement to kickstart a national effort to reboot the UK’s morale and build community resilience through the power of employee volunteering at scale.
“From major corporates to SMEs, public sector organisations and not-for-profits, we’re calling on employers in the East of England to sign a pledge to grow participation in volunteering and join our movement to create positive lasting change across our workplaces and communities.”
Tim Campbell MBE, entrepreneur and star of The Apprentice, said: “Imagine the impact of 100 million volunteering hours!
“The collective power of organisations and their people showing up for communities across the UK. It’s an ambitious target, but it’s exactly the kind of ambition we need right now.
“Doubling employee volunteering isn’t just ‘nice to have’, it’s a practical way to strengthen workplaces, support wellbeing, and help communities thrive. Every organisation can be a force for good, and there’s never been a more important moment to lead from the front.”
Organisations of every size, across every sector, are being asked to pledge three essential steps:
Lead from the front: Senior leaders should volunteer and actively promote workplace programmes – normalising participation and sending a clear message that volunteering mlunatters.
Open volunteering up: Only a third of UK workers are offered volunteering time currently. By making volunteering available to more colleagues, regardless of job role, location or working pattern, it will help foster a more inclusive culture, increasing uptake and impact.
Make it easy: To remove friction, employers should provide clear guidance on how to get involved and offer a simple sign-up pathway. This could be supported by tech platforms like GoVo for Business which make it easy to find, apply and track volunteering opportunities.
The 100 Million Hour Movement follows on from the recent launch of GoVo for Business, the UK’s only charity-backed employee volunteering platform.
Providing access to thousands of flexible volunteering roles (400 in every postcode), GoVo for Business makes employee volunteering simple with tools to track impact and roles that fit around work commitments including curated team days.
All commercial income from GoVo for Business is reinvested into the platform’s further development and RVS’s community services.
The 100 Million Hour Movement will run until the end of 2028. More details at royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/100millionhours.
References
According to a Censuswide survey of 2000 UK Adults aged 16+. 30.06% of UK workers are offered paid volunteering days. This equates to 10,176,504 people being offered volunteering days in the UK. The average number of days offered to all UK workers is 2.34.
The research was conducted by 3Gem with a sample of 2,000 nationally representative respondents aged 18 plus between 30 Jan and 4 Feb this year.
Research was conducted by RVS with a sample of 922 registered charities across England, Scotland and Wales between 30 September to 6 October.
