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There are numerous reports on the rates of attrition among volunteers as a persistent challenge for organizations. In explaining volunteer attrition, researchers have predominantly: 1) provided an individualistic account of volunteering; 2) overlooked the interactional dimension of volunteer work and the crucial role of interpretation in its development; and 3) assumed commitment as a function of satisfaction with volunteering experience. Drawing on the theoretical insights of a symbolic interactionist approach, this article contends that volunteers' role commitment hinges on their satisfaction with their interpretation of their interaction with clients, rather than the interaction itself. This perspective calls attention to the volunteer-client dyadic interaction, gives a prominent place to the social role and its definition, and draws attention to strategies used by volunteers to sustain challenging relationship with clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian- and foreign-born volunteers have contributed to the settlement of newcomers into Canadian society. Despite their important contribution, little has been reported about the experiences and perspectives of these volunteers. Using the information collected from face-to-face interviews with 60 Canadian- and foreign-born volunteers who support newcomers, this article discusses factors that motivate people to volunteer with newcomers. The study results revealed among other findings that (1) to become a volunteer, one not only needs to be motivated but also needs to believe that volunteering will produce the expected positive results and to have confidence in one's ability to complete the assigned tasks, (2) once people become volunteers, the experience of volunteering tests their perceived self-efficacy and their belief about the effectiveness of their volunteer work. Success or failure in their expectations influences their decision to continue or discontinue their volunteer work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]