The Good and Sometimes Surprising Benefits of Community Involvement
No surprise here. Community involvement offers numerous benefits, both for employers and employees. What’s surprising is what some of those benefits are.
More and more studies conducted over the past years indicate that volunteering is healthy for you.—yes, you read that correctly. When you are focusing on someone other than yourself, you reduce stress. And we all know what a killer stress can be. Community service helps regulate your emotions, like happiness and optimism, and it makes you feel like you have more control over your own life, all of which strengthen your immune system. Surprising? Yes. You just feel better about yourself for giving back, and your mind and body benefit directly from that.
There are many more personal benefits from community involvement. You will probably learn something. An active mind is a healthy mind. Getting involved also fosters empathy for members of your community, some of whom are probably way less fortunate than you. It helps build community and neighborhoods by bringing people together. What can be better than that?
Encouraging community involvement is also a very positive benefit for employers. Again, studies have shown that a company’s bottom line is better when they give back. People will go out of their way to buy a product or service from a company that supports a cause they believe in, and, they will pay more for it. The goodwill that giving back fosters is terrific, but increasing your bottom line? That’s a nice bonus.
A company that is involved in their community will also attract and retain the best employees. Employees are more committed to a company that is committed to the public good, and they love to participate on behalf of their company and let everyone know about it.
So companies benefit internally and externally, and it actually shows up on the bottom line. How great is it that this thing that makes you healthy and happy is good for your community and good for your company? It’s a win-win. You get to make a difference, you get to contribute, and you get to help make the world a better place. Smiles all ‘round.