LIFE AND WORK ISSUES IN VOLUNTEER TOURISM: A SEARCH FOR MEANING?

MÜLLER, CAMILA V.; SCHEFFER, ANGELA B. B.

doi:10.1590/1678-6971/eRAMG190095

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Human and Social Management • RAM, Rev. Adm. Mackenzie 20 (1) • 2019 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eRAMG190095 copy

LIFE AND WORK ISSUES IN VOLUNTEER TOURISM: A SEARCH FOR MEANING?

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

This paper aims to understand the motivations involved in volunteer tourism activities and the meaning of the experience to the volunteers in a post-modern context.

Originality/value:

Volunteer tourism is a response to the socioeconomic transformations of the 21st century. It is related to the contemporary search for meaning in the spheres of life and work. In this sense, the study proposes a new reflexive approach to the work debate, integrating issues involving the mobilization of subjectivity and post-modern perspectives.

Design/method/approach:

This study is a qualitative investigation with results collected through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyze the transcripts.

Findings:

The participants are individuals who travel abroad seeking a meaningful tourist experience. As consumers, they welcome life experiences that represent particular aspects of their own identity, while also looking for ways to lend added value to their careers and increase their employability. The volunteer tourism industry mobilizes the production and consumption of such subjectivities, which are related to the search for meaning in the post-modern era. Self-realization, intercultural encounters, and a different perspective on reality are some outcomes of this activity. The meaning of work is itself now a merchandising instrument.

KEYWORDS
Volunteer Tourism; Postmodernity; Meaning of Work; Life; Work

	Sex	Age	Civil State	Academic Education	Occupation Before and After Volunteer Tourism	Country	Program
E1	F	19	Single	Bachelor in Advertising (Freshman)	Before the volunteer tourism, she worked as a researcher in an academic psychology group; after the trip she started to work at a Junior Enterprise.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E2	F	30	Single	Majored in Pharmacy	She works as a pharmacist at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	Ghana	She worked as a baby's caregiver in an orphanage.
E3	F	22	Single	Majored in Advertising	She worked as a freelancer in brand design before and after the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E4	M	22	Single	Bachelor of International Relations (Senior)	He was not working when he did volunteer tourism. Today he works as a volunteer at the Red Cross and in a refugee programme.	South Africa	He worked as a bird caregiver in an animal reserve.
E5	F	29	Single	Majored in Biomedical Science	She works with clinical research at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E6	M	28	Single	Majored in Business Administration	He works as a logistics manager at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	He worked as an animal caregiver in a wildlife reserve.
E7	M	27	Stable Union	Majored in Business Administration	He works in the supply chain area at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	He worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E8	F	22	Single	Bachelor of Production Engineering (Senior)	She is working now and was not working before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as an animal caregiver in a wildlife reserve.
E9	F	21	Single	Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Sophomore)	She is working now and was not working before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in a hospital.
E10	F	21	Single	Bachelor of Production Engineering (Freshman)	She works at a social entrepreneurship NGO from even before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E11	F	27	Single	Bachelor of Psychology (Senior)	She was not working before the volunteer tourism. Today she works as a freelance translator and as a psychology intern.	Namibia	She worked as an animal caregiver in a wildlife reserve.
E12	F	27	Single	Majored in Pharmacy	She works with health care at the same multinational company as before the volunteer tourism.	Ghana	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E13	F	24	Single	Majored in Mechanical Engineering	She works with strategic consulting at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	Peru	She worked as a children's caregiver in a girls' orphanage.
E14	F	22	Single	Bachelor of Tourism (Senior)	She was not working before the volunteer tourism and is not working now.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E15	M	24	Single	Bachelor of Business Administration (Senior)	He was not working before the volunteer tourism and is not working now.	Kenya	He worked with orphaned children and HIV-positive women.
E16	F	28	Single	Majored in Design	She works with marketing and visual communication at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	Thailand and South Africa	She worked in an elephant sanctuary (Thailand) and as a children's caregiver in an orphanage
E17	F	28	Single	Majored in Industrial Design	She was working as a freelancer before the volunteer tourism. She has now started her own business.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E18	F	20	Single	Bachelor of International Relations (Freshman)	She was not working before the volunteer tourism and is not working now.	Kenya	She worked as an English teacher for children.
E19	F	21	Single	Bachelor of Law (Senior)	She works at a law firm in the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in an orphanage.
E20	F	32	Single	Majored in Economics	She works with finance at the same company as before the volunteer tourism.	South Africa	She worked as a children's caregiver in a hospital.

Categories	Explanation
Tourism with a Purpose	This motivation concerns typical characteristics of volunteer tourism: exotic places, opportunities for intercultural encounters, language practice, and curiosity about the host country.
Life Experiences	Life experiences that are related to social actions or some humanitarian aid experienced by the participant. Voluntary work, family influence, and life contexts related to social causes are taken here as motivations for volunteer tourism.
Crisis Moments	Situations that impacted the individuals in a way that they search out volunteer tourism to overcome the crisis.
Search for Meaning	The search for significant experiences responsible for giving meaning to the individual is a motivation for volunteer tourism.

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[1] Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Camila V. Müller, Rua Washington Luiz, 855, Centro Histórico, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, CEP: 90010-460. E-mail: mullervcamila@hotmail.com