Gen Z and the Future of Workplace Volunteering

Gen Z is entering the workforce with a clear sense of what they value, and they expect those values to show up at work. As of Q2 2024, they already make up nearly 20% of the labor force. And one place this shift is especially visible is in how they approach volunteering.

This generation expects more than stability or growth, they expect meaning. Purpose isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the baseline. They’re choosing to engage in causes that matter to them, through work, and they’re paying attention to whether companies make that easy or difficult to do.

At Goodera, we’re seeing the same shift play out across the 500+ enterprises we support globally. Our latest India Volunteering Quotient 2025 found that Indian companies are clocking 31% workforce participation in volunteering: 40% higher than the global benchmark. Technology firms lead the way with 35% participation and an average of 4.7 volunteering hours per employee. This reflects a cultural shift: careers are no longer judged only by titles or paychecks but also by the impact they create. Across sectors, this shift is accelerating. Interest in volunteering is growing and how employees want to engage is changing.

Younger employees are using volunteering to explore interests, contribute time and skills, and build a sense of identity at work. They see it as a meaningful part of their professional lives, not something separate from it.

● Across our platform, 70% of Gen Z employees who volunteer once return within the same year.

● The most common areas of engagement are education (42%), environment (33%), and community welfare (25%). This choice reflects a strong preference for tangible, community-facing impact.

Their engagement is visible and volitional. Starting early in their careers, Gen Z give their time, creativity, and energy, and in exchange, they find community, identity, and purpose. Their expectations are clear: they want to know how their time is being used, who it supports, and what outcomes it creates.

The workplaces today are increasingly hybrid and distributed. As a result, employees often feel disconnected from the broader culture of the organization. Volunteering has become one of the few activities that brings people together in ways that feel personal and team-driven.

● Participation peaks during large-scale volunteering events where 70–80 employees come together; be it a school, a clean-up drive, or festival-linked community service.

● Our data reveals volunteers are 2.5x more likely to report a strong sense of belonging at work, a vital factor for Gen Z who seek meaning and belonging as a base expectation.

Technology as Enabler in Volunteering

Scaling meaningful volunteering has long been a challenge for organizations. The most common reason employees don’t volunteer isn’t a lack of interest. It’s friction. The process is either unclear, inconvenient, or disconnected from their day-to-day schedule.

Technology is quietly becoming a key part of the solution. Digital platforms enable employees to identify causes that align with their values, participate in curated activities across geographies, and track the tangible outcomes of their efforts. When companies introduce enablers such as paid volunteering time-off or flagship campaigns, participation rates more than double. The insight is clear: access drives action.

This evolution marks a profound shift. Volunteering is no longer a once-a-year activity. It’s becoming part of how employees join, grow, and connect at work. Today, digital platforms make it seamless.

● Companies implementing structural enablers like Volunteer Time Off (VTO) or flagship campaigns see up to 1.9× higher participation.

● Offering diverse formats, like in-office kiosks for micro-volunteering, virtual modules, and peer-led campaigns, makes it easier for every type of employee to participate.

Whether it’s virtual volunteering, in-office kits, or field activities, platforms make it easier to offer volunteering as a consistent experience rather than a once-a-year initiative. That consistency matters when building a culture of impact that Gen Z wants to be part of.

The future of workplace volunteering will be global, technology-enabled, and grounded in real human connection. Skills-based volunteering is gaining broader adoption, with employees contributing their expertise in areas like digital transformation, financial planning, marketing, and operations to support nonprofit capacity. Sustainability-focused initiatives are integrating employee engagement into how companies measure impact, moving volunteering from a standalone CSR activity to a strategic business lever.

Participation is growing, but scale alone doesn’t build engagement. The real opportunity lies in making volunteering a part of everyday work—not as an event, but as a behavior.

For Gen Z, this alignment isn’t optional. They’re looking for platforms where their skills, interests, and values can contribute to real-world outcomes. Organizations, on the other hand, need to embed purpose into work or risk losing the very generation that will define the future of business. The rise of Gen Z is more than a demographic shift, it’s a cultural one. It reminds us that work and purpose are no longer separate tracks. They move together now. Work and purpose are no longer parallel journeys; they now walk the same path. The question is whether companies are building the systems and culture to meet them there.

The article is authored by Abhishek Humbad, Founder & CEO, Goodera