Antinomies In Volunteering – Choice/Obligation, Leisure/Work

Abstract

“It sounds like work.” This pithy observation has been attributed by many an amateur and hobbyist whom I have interviewed over the years (Stebbins, 1992, 1996c) to friends, relatives, and acquaintances as their response to descriptions offered by the first two of their special leisure. Of course, amateurs and hobbyists know their pursuits have their costs and demand a significant level of perseverance, but to them they are far from drudgery, unremunerated obligation, or a kind of job. That some people see serious leisure in this light was simply more evidence for these participants of the general public’s ignorance of this uncommon use of free time and of how it can be powerfully rewarding even when notable costs must occasionally endured.