Work without wages: the motivation for volunteer firefighters

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, July, 1993 by Alexander M. Thompson, III, Barbara A. Bono

This empirical exploration next turns to particular characteristics of volunteer fire department (VFD) and career activities which could explain relative overall satisfaction of the former versus the latter. The results are summarized by the ordered multinomial logistic regression reported in Table 6.(9) A positive coefficient indicates that the factor contributes to the relative satisfaction with firefighting, while a negative coefficient reflects greater relative satisfaction with careers.

The first two explanatory variables, intrinsic and extrinsic volunteer firefighter motivation, relate directly to the previous discussion of alienation. These two variables are constructed from the averages of the intrinsic and extrinsic variables reported in Table 4, above.(10) Although the composition of intrinsic and extrinsic motives is likely to vary across individuals, in the aggregate both genre of motivation should have a predictable impact upon overall relative satisfaction. Consistent with this hypothesis, both coefficients are statistically significant. The positive contribution of intrinsic motivation to satisfaction reinforces the expectation that individuals who join volunteer fire departments in order to fulfill intrinsic needs achieve elevated relative satisfaction there.

In contrast, joining volunteer fire companies to achieve extrinsic ends has the opposite impact, perhaps because these efforts are not successful or perhaps because extrinsic motivation is inherently not satisfying. There is evidence from the sample that firefighters seeking employment through volunteer fire departments are reasonably successful, consistent with previous observations regarding the opportunities available there.(11) The second interpretation supports the hypothesis that intrinsic motives enhance while extrinsic motivations inhibit self-actualization.

The next explanatory variable reflects relative skill requirements of career and firefighting. The theory here suggests that skill requirements promote individual development, and therefore diminish alienation. Table 6 shows that relative skill requirements make a statistically significant positive contribution to relative satisfaction, providing substantial support for the central hypothesis.

The following four explanatory factors, listed in Table 6, relate to an individual's career. The first two, whether the respondent is self employed or is in a managerial or professional specialist career, are indicators of career autonomy. Such status suggests greater control over one's career, and a less alienated and more satisfying career experience. Centers and Bugental (1966) have also suggested that individuals employed at higher occupational levels place a higher value on intrinsic, and hence non-alienating work characteristics. The self-employed factor exhibits a negative sign consistent with the hypotheses, and is statistically significant. While the coefficient of the manager/professional specialist factor is unexpectedly positive, it is not statistically significant.