Hamilton also perceives great wellbeing benefits all round.
He believes employees can add real value to the charities we support by sharing business and life skills. Increasingly, potential employees are judging their next employer on more than simply pay and prospects, important as these are.
Hamilton says: "Many are looking for companies with a sense of purpose, who share their values.
"We have a generation now that is passionate about sustainability, and who have high standards when it comes to ethics, inclusivity, wellbeing and transparency."
3) Expressing identity
Mark Jeyaraj is an engagement manager at financial consultancy Oliver Wyman. Jeyaraj studied at a Jesuit school in Australia where his formative ideology was in "being more, for others".
This is something he has carried into his professional life, which he feels has had huge benefits to his own wellbeing and the wellbeing of his organisation and the charities they have served as part of their programmes.
A member of the LGBTQ community, his pro bono and his voluntary endeavours have helped him express his identity and help others
who are often misunderstood find their voice.
As an Oliver Wyman employee Jeyaraj participates in volunteering days organised by he himself or others in the company.
One volunteering activity Jeyaraj took part in was to help a homeless shelter with gardening. “I used work volunteer allocated days and worked with nine colleagues.”
Asked how he felt about volunteering with colleagues and how this might have helped his wellness, he says: “To work with my colleagues was good for two reasons. It was a bonding experience getting to know some of my colleagues in a new way, working alongside them [as we potted plants].
"Also we also got to speak together with a few of the folk coming into the shelter and find out about them."
He admits that although the voluntary activity itself was reasonably straightforward and unchallenging, it opened his mind as he “wouldn’t usually speak to people who have become homeless”.
It also taught him to be positive and resilient when facing scepticism.
Jeyaraj says: "It’s possible to experience some scepticism when doing activities that happen over a short period of time because these may be judged as representative and therefore not impactful.
"However, there are benefits coming to the organisation helping and the organisation being helped."
He says the help made a direct impact in terms of the gardening, and making the shelter more home-like; the community days helped him as an individual gain confidence in helping out and building a habit of contributing to the community and benefited the company by being part of a team and supporting colleagues.
