To stop volunteering due to politics?

[Circularargument]

NC because thread hunters.
Not talking about party politics just the endless jockeying about who's really in charge and whose instructions/ vague ideas about the direction of travel I should follow. I like the cause a lot but feel constantly wrong footed. Plus the two parties use someone else to do the dirty work of telling me I've done it all wrong.
Had quite enough small p politics at work thanks!
Why is it that people can't leave their egos at the door, it's not as if the place will fall down without them. Or me, of course, hence byeee!

What's that have to do with anything?

It's not related to my professional life.

I quit volunteering more than a decade ago for similar reasons. It’s a shame but I don’t feel guilty about it. Was meant to be the next president of the organization but a few people just ruined everything.
Really, poor leadership ruined everything because in the prior years it had been a wonderful experience.

Just got asked to work with a new organization and am considering it. Will not tolerate that level of nonsense again for long, though.

I’m a chair of a charity and I feel your pain @Circularargument - I’ve seen similar in professional paid roles and voluntary roles all over the place and it comes down to put up, stand up or walk out - unfortunately in volunteering it tends to be people put up with it and are too scared to rock the boat/clique or they walk out as they dont want to deal with it.

im sorry your organisation lost a good volunteer. Any point writing to trustees or higher ups to explain or not worth it/they are the issue?

in your shoes i think I'd resign and make sure the organisation (and maybe the larger, wider organisation if there is one) know why.

I stop volunteering because of the way I was treated as much as the office politics. When I told them I was unable to do so and so day I was told I would have to go and see the “ volunteers manager “, who, incidentally, was paid, in line with her responsibilities !. I was then given a lecture on commitment.

That put the tin lid on it for me and I pulled the plug on the whole thing only to be told I was not only letting fellow volunteers down but I was letting the charity down too, however, most of all, I was letting myself down.

I went back to working a bank shift @ £45 an hour if I felt then need to help out.

Higher ups ( trustees) the issue, they let fiefdom occur and won't stand up to the faction leaders as prefer a quiet life

Well played @Jackienory what a cheek of them

@Jackienory

I would have told them perhaps if they treated volunteers better situations such as this would not arise .

I stopped volunteering for two organisations because one woman (same person!) had a habit of being domineering.

She has ASD and CPTSD so no-one pulled her up on it, though most volunteers quit.

I decided not to engage with difficult people who cause a lot of stress unless I'm being paid for it.

I volunteer for four different organisations. Three of them are absolutely fine to volunteer for and I feel respected and appreciated. My fourth volunteer post is that of Parent Association Form Rep and it is deadly – not because of the parents all the actual time involved, but because of the Chair, the Committee, and unwelcoming clique of established reps, who all seem to know each other. I volunteered because I genuinely wanted to help the parents in my child’s form because I know I have more spare time 10 most.

Nevertheless, it is my time that I’m giving up,. I try my best and give what I can, but clearly my face doesn’t fit and I’m tired of overbearing committee members (one in particular) throwing their weight around, wrong footing me and telling me what’s what. The worst of it is that I’m expected to recruit my own replacement when I finish my tenure. I suspect I’m not ‘allowed’ to leave unless I can find someone else (that’s not the Stepford Way), but I think it highly unlikely that anyone else in my child’s form will want to follow on from me, so I’m going to toddle off anyway. If I get any pushback from the committee, I will be giving them the collective finger.

I’ve name changed for this, because this really isn’t me, and I have a better persona that comes under a different username!