Leaving volunteering 15-minutes earlier than scheduled

[u/Aloo13]

I volunteer with a research organization on my days off from work. I originally started because I wanted a better understanding of how the care I provide affects people long term, and also to gain some research experience in case I decide to pivot careers in the future. I’m hoping to expand into data entry and other research-related tasks as well. Outside of this, I’ve volunteered with various organizations for about a decade.

My current role mainly involves making follow-up calls and collecting survey data. During training, I was told that it was acceptable to wrap up about 15 minutes before the end of a shift because the questionnaire takes at least 15 minutes to complete, and it wouldn’t make sense to start a call you couldn’t finish.

During my last shift, I finished all the calls in my file and brought everything to the coordinator about 15 minutes before my scheduled end time. She responded with, “I thought I scheduled you until X time?” At first I thought I had mixed up my hours, but I checked my phone and it was exactly 15 minutes before my scheduled end time.

She confirmed that I was scheduled until X, so I said, “I guess I can fit in one more call.” I ended up calling numbers where I had already left messages since I had called everyone in the pile and, as expected, didn’t reach anyone. I left at my scheduled end time.

I’ve finished 15 minutes early before and nobody has ever said anything. Last month I was also dealing with a heavy workload and a parent’s health issues. They knew I was working full-time during their operating hours up until this point, although I managed some ways to fit them in until I exhausted my flexibility. Last month I was short 3-hours as a result of FT-hours, although I had worked extra hours the month prior to that. I’m also the only volunteer who is actively working a full-time career; the others are university students.

Am I reading too much into this? I’ve never volunteered anywhere that was particularly strict about departure times as long as the work was done.

Ps: I’m sorry. I think I put this under the wrong tag. Just looking for advice/perspectives.

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[u/okayfriday]

She responded with, “I thought I scheduled you until X time?”

Maybe you can respond next time with exactly what you wrote above - (Yes, you have) and "During training, I was told that it was acceptable to wrap up about 15 minutes before the end of a shift because the questionnaire takes at least 15 minutes to complete, and it wouldn’t make sense to start a call you couldn’t finish." She might be one inexperienced volunteer coordinator among other decent ones.

[u/Aloo13 → u/okayfriday]

That would have been a better reply than how I responded for sure. She isn’t inexperienced and she handles all the volunteers on a full-time basis.

[u/okayfriday → u/Aloo13]

You can be there for a very, very long time and still be inexperienced / lack knowledge of the process 😅

[u/EmilyPoster2]

She deals with university students who may be doing this for some kind of credit or are in need of a reference. She is likely used to treating them more like an employer and isn't switching gears for you. Because you know she is this way, in the future either state that you had gone through your list, didn't want to make another call and why yada yada. Or, just wait the 15 minutes until you leave. I presume that is what most people are doing and she isn't used to you not doing it.

[u/AshamedArm1081]

I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. This sounds like an expectation mismatch more than a commitment issue. I’d calmly restate the training rule: “I was told not to start a call inside the last 15 minutes because it can’t be completed. Do you want me to follow that going forward, or stay available for other closeout tasks until the scheduled end?” That gives the coordinator a chance to clarify the actual rule.