Public sector employees volunteer more, and may be able to pave the way to rebuilding social capital in the U.S.

In recent decades many commentators have expressed increasing concern over the apparent decline of civil society in the U.S. Jaclyn Schede Piatak explores one possible way to address this decline, using public sector employees, who, she argues, are more likely to volunteer. She writes that non-profit employees are much more likely to volunteer both formally and informally than those in the for-profit sector, due to their ‘other-orientation’ from their work. With this in mind, public and non-profit workers may be a valuable resource towards beginning to rebuild social capital and civic engagement in the U.S.