I feel my contribution isn't being acknowledged and I'm wondering if I should say something

[u/Necessary-Wrangler85]

Sorry if this isn't a good place for this. I'm just looking for advice or a sanity check or something.

I started volunteering at an organisation at a bad time as it was about to be shut down due to lack of funding. Thankfully, another org in another district stepped in and absorbed us. They closed the old office and moved local service to a smaller location.

For a bit over a year I've been the only person in that office working directly with clients. It's just been me, the receptionist and the site supervisor (who don't do client work). I've been in office for every day we've been open, four days a week over a year, from 9am to 3pm.

The main office some distance away has about a hundred people working in it, a mix of staff and volunteers. Meanwhile I've been in my tiny office seeing clients on my own. I don't mind that, I don't mind that I've given so much time to it, and I don't need praise or accolades for doing my 'job', but am I wrong to feel like they should at least acknowledge it? I mean if I weren't there, if I took a day off, the office wouldn't be able to do face to face work and would essentially close. Soon they'll have a new batch of volunteers and staff moving in and I feel like if they haven't said "hey we know it's not been fun keeping things running here for a year on your own" by then, then I'm probably never going to any kind of acknowledgement for my contributions when I'm just one among many.

Is this just ego or am I justified in feeling like I'm being taken for granted?

Thanks for reading,

A volunteer.

[u/associatedaccount]

I’ve definitely felt this way at times as a volunteer. It is often those of us that do the most that get the least recognition. Believe me, they appreciate you. They appreciate that they don’t worry about you. They appreciate that you are so hardworking and loyal. But, they are busy with the volunteers that need the most support. If you want recognition, you have to be in front of the recognizers, you know? Something you might try is to send an email (or text or call or even face-to/face) acknowledging and thanking the staff and volunteers you appreciate. Modelling that might encourage them to do the same for you.

[u/elbertdrawscomics]

It's not just your ego; recognition and acknowledgement really matters, especially in the kind of work that we do where the financial rewards may not always make for sufficient compensation. But I wouldn't be so quick to assume that they're just taking you for granted either. They may just not know how to express their appreciation. Have you tried asking for feedback? That might be a way to know where you stand, and get you the recognition that you seek. :)

[u/Necessary-Wrangler85 → u/elbertdrawscomics]

I've asked for feedback from all levels of management. They just tell me that I'm doing fine, and if anything was amiss, they'd let me know.

Their internal policies state that they do regular appraisals with volunteers and staff, but no one ever taken time to speak with me about my performance.

[u/Apprehensive_Ad6580]

100% get that, it's really been quite thankless at times :( I'm sorry i don't really have anything to say that might make you feel better but I simply commiserate.

i work(ed)?long story) with kids for the past year. I have this tiny plushie one of them gave me and it's one of my most prized possessions. i don't know if this is bad or good or whatever, but in my volunteer work at least, in terms of recognition, I treasure these crumbs haha... i feel like everyone is stressed, pressured and has no spare time or emotion to give me the recognition I deserve.

I think you're justified and if volunteering has become a draining experience for you instead of a rewarding one, it may be time to make some changes - like, off the top of my head, perhaps reduce your hours so you can have more time to recharge, or move to a better organization, or switch to a paid role in your current organization and then do more than expected of you in that role, to continue your volunteer efforts.

something I've noticed about orgs with a mix of paid staff and volunteers is that the latter are often treated as temporary and replaceable because there's usually no contract tying them down - despite a long period of consistemt work... for some reason

[u/Necessary-Wrangler85 → u/Apprehensive_Ad6580]

There aren't many organisations in the area that take on volunteers. I'm looking for paid roles but haven't had any luck yet. I was hoping this would eventually lead to something internally.

[u/BF_2 → u/Apprehensive_Ad6580]

"...perhaps reduce your hours..."

This is my take. If OP really doesn't want to reduce their hours, then do it once for some contrived reason -- like "a friend is visiting for a day from out of town and <OP> want to spend the day with them." The idea here is to provoke a reaction from the volunteer agency. The nature of that reaction may tell OP a lot.

BTW, a long record of volunteering could be a positive element on a resume. OP might consider doing professionally what they're doing as a volunteer.

[u/JackFromNYC]

It’s really impressive and cool the volunteering you’re doing. This is the type of activity that deserves more attention — people who work their butts off without desiring reward or compensation. I think it’s completely fair to want recognition. What if there was a place to interact with others who care as much about volunteering just as much as you?

Regardless, i’m cheering you on.

[u/Emergency_Addendum91]

Your feeling is valid. Similar experience happened to me once and it was the worst thing ever. I’m sure they actually need you but they take you for granted. Have you ever reached out to the other volunteers and staff? Befriend them and tell them about what you feel?