Background

In the aftermath of Covid and times of ever-increasing work intensity, finding sustainable ways to safeguard volunteer engagement and resilience is essential to the success of both non-profit organizations and society (Ojo et al., 2021).

Aims

Drawing from Broaden-and Build theory (Fredrickson, 2013a), the current study aims to identify the extent to which organizational volunteering practices are related to volunteer engagement and further volunteer resilience. It also explores the role of individual gratitude and whether it strengthens the relationship between volunteer engagement and resilience.

Method

Responses were gathered from 1080 individuals volunteering for a German environmental nonprofit organization. The data was analyzed using SPSS and Process Macro, testing for a moderated mediation.

Results

Organizational volunteer practices (team cohesiveness and goal clarity) were positively related to volunteer engagement. Volunteer engagement was positively related to volunteers’ resilience for volunteers who had a high disposition towards gratitude. For volunteers with low gratitude disposition, no effect between volunteer engagement and resilience was detected. Hence, individual gratitude was explored as a boundary condition, which strengthens the relationship between engagement and resilience.

Conclusion

Goal clarity and team cohesiveness were identified as factors that increase volunteer engagement. To positively influence resilience in volunteers, the importance of gratitude as an organizational habit was found to be paramount. This finding promises high practical relevance as it indicates that investing in honing gratitude as an organizational habit may positively impact levels of resilience in volunteers.