1. Understanding motivation and commitment
Volunteer disengagement and even burnout are real problems in the youth movement. Organisations are noticing changing patterns of engagement.
Young people often show strong motivation and dedication for a period of time, but then step away and do not return. While some young people are less interested in long-term commitments or formal responsibilities, they still want to contribute, learn, and make a difference. This challenges organisations to rethink what motivating people looks like and how different forms of engagement could be recognised and valued.
Just as reef species rely on one another in different ways, youth organisations depend on people contributing through different roles, capacities and levels of commitment. Healthy organisations recognise these differences and create environments where people can participate in ways that are sustainable for them.
Why this matters
Sustainable and long-term engagement need both:
- Motivation = energy
- Commitment = stability
Motivation without commitment → can lead to burnout, disappointment, and people dropping out.
Commitment without motivation → can lead to tiredness, cynicism, and disconnection.
What this chapter offers
You can use the exercises in the session outline below together with your team to help you understand their motivation and commitment which are both a fuel for engagement. Together, they shape how people participate and how long they stay engaged. Understanding someone’s motivation and commitment can help you provide them with opportunities and ways of engagement that fit them and that will make them want to contribute to the organisation.
Want to explore this topic further?
If your organisation would like to go deeper into the personal and interpersonal aspects of activism, we recommend exploring the Activism Inside Out toolkit.
The toolkit explores how our personal experiences, values, identities, biases, and stories influence the way we engage with others and with activism itself. It offers practical exercises and reflections that can help individuals and teams better understand themselves, strengthen relationships, navigate challenges, and build healthier activist cultures. It is a useful complement to this session for organisations that want to continue reflecting on participation, belonging, leadership, and sustainable engagement.
Next chapter
2. Handling discomfort within your team
This chapter focuses on how to handle discomfort within a team and identifying the differences between discomfort and harm.