Talking ‘bout my generation: Generational differences in the attitudes of volunteers at the 2012 Olympic Games

This article assesses whether the values underpinning the motivations to volunteer of older and younger people are different. It does this through in-depth interviews with 38 volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Analysis using the framework of the psychological contract and narrative biographies distinguished between value led and market led motives. An initial coding of interviews showed that older volunteers were more likely to express altruistic values and younger volunteers' motivations were related to improving their employability. However, this age-dichotomy became less distinct as qualitative analysis demonstrated how the older volunteers were also motivated by self-interest in certain ways. In particular, a motivation to express a self-identity as a 'volunteer' led them to continue volunteering despite other rewards not being present. The analysis illustrates the interplay of values, circumstances and experience in influencing motivations to volunteer, and thus the difficulty in making generalisations about differences in values between generations.