Volunteering at the limit: where volunteering ends and work begins

It is a multifaceted topic with many facets and correspondingly many perspectives, as Liam Bremer sums up the discussion on the professionalisation of volunteering. At the centre of the debate, which concerns many volunteers in Luxembourg, is the question of boundaries, of "up to where?" and "from when?". Up to what point can we speak of volunteer work and at what point should it no longer be unpaid, but carried out in return for appropriate remuneration?

The current President of the Luxembourg Youth Council (CGJL) is a long-time volunteer himself, was already active as a volunteer in secondary school, travelled as an EU youth delegate for Luxembourg and currently represents the concerns of the more than 30 CGJL member organisations. In his role, Liam bears a certain responsibility, on the one hand towards the state, with which a convention exists, but above all towards the many young people that the Youth Council represents. Not an easy task as a working economist who actually works in Frankfurt. "Thank God I'm a workaholic and relatively flexible in the way I work. The more time I have alongside my job, the more time I have for voluntary work, " says the 26-year-old.

In a vicious circle

You only realise how much you really invest in your volunteer work once you've already slipped into it; the reward is the knowledge that you've done something, according to Liam's motto. Actually, because more and more voices are calling for limits or a different form of "remuneration". Not only have the legal requirements for structures that are largely supported by volunteers changed in recent years, but also volunteer work itself, says the Youth Council President: "The classic case of someone being active in an organisation for a lifetime is becoming increasingly rare. This leads to responsibilities and roles being spread across fewer shoulders, which can of course have a negative impact on individuals, but also means that organisations require a certain degree of professionalisation in order to function at all. However, more professionals also means more administrative complexity and the need for even more professionals."

Put simply, where work is carried out for money, strings are attached; there are conditions, processes become more complicated and even fewer people feel like getting involved in something in their free time – because nobody can do without volunteers. The death of volunteering, so to speak. "Many organisations therefore function in a hybrid way, including youth organisations: the board of directors is 'youth-led', i.e. made up of young volunteers, but there are also permanent staff who support the work and take the workload off the volunteers so that they can concentrate on their core tasks, " explains the 26-year-old, who describes payment and professionalisation as "too simple a solution to a complex problem".