Turning time into an insurance of care and connection with Zeitpolster

According to a study by Caritas and the Sora Institute, 570,000 Austrians feel lonely more than half of the time. Isolation and loneliness affect various age groups, making them widespread issues in Austrian society. We discussed this with Judith Schneider, regional coordinator for Zeitpolster in Vienna and Niederösterreich, about how a social business can improve the situation. The short answer: donating, exchanging, and saving time.

“Zeitpolster connects people who need a little help—typically older individuals or those recovering from illness, but also families with children—with volunteers ready to lend their time. In return, these volunteers accrue hours they can later use when they need assistance themselves,” shares Judith Schneider, who has been part of the team for five years.

Founded in 2018 by Gernot Jochum-Müller from Vorarlberg, this verein and GmbH (company with limited liability) is currently active in 6 states of Austria. Around 1,000 volunteers are active in their network, helping others with various activities, from shopping for groceries to taking a walk, accompanying them to the doctor, or simply keeping them company. “Zeitpolster’s volunteers are active exactly where professional care workers can’t,” shared Judith, who also mentioned the limited time professional care workers have to chat or play cards with their patients or to help them with mundane tasks. It is important to highlight that Zeitpolster’s volunteers do not perform any professional care work, such as nursing.

Since most of the helpers—meaning the volunteers at Zeitpolster—are taking care of just one or two people, it is common for them to develop friendships with the people they help. “That’s very beautiful to see, and we also bring together people who didn’t know each other before, and now they are friends!” shares Judith.

At the moment, Zeitpolster operates on a fee basis of 9 euros for administrative costs but also to ensure that the organization has something to give back to the volunteer. As explained by Judith, “Half of this fee goes to an emergency fund, supporting volunteers who may need to redeem their accumulated hours but are in a place and time that could not get help from another fellow Zeitpolster.” This system not only provides immediate support but also builds a safety net for the future, creating what Judith describes as “a valuable insurance without money.”

Challenges

Despite its benefits, Zeitpolster faces challenges, particularly from the political realm where support has been unexpectedly low. “You would think politicians would embrace us as part of the solution to societal issues they aim to address,” Judith remarks. Furthermore, skepticism about the initiative’s intentions has been a barrier, though it has lessened following their certification as a verified social enterprise (VSE). The VSE is a label given by the Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH to businesses established to make a societal contribution—social or environmental—and that put positive impact ahead of revenues.

Another challenge that Zeitpolster faces is becoming self-financed. “At the moment, we are a mix of grants, donations, and support from a Stiftung foundation; we have also done crowd financing at some point.” According to Judith, if everything continues as now, or with growth, Zeitpolster should be self-financed in four years’ time.

Opportunities to Engage with Zeitpolster

While Zeitpolster is active in almost all the states of Austria, except Carinthia and Burgenland, Judith Schneider recognizes that there is still room for growth. In Vienna, they now have around 160 helpers registered, and interestingly, around 60% of them had not been actively volunteering for an organization before. “We are always at the Freiwilligenmesse in October, the fair for volunteers at the Rathaus,” a place where they aim to reach as many potential volunteers and helpers as possible. “But we do get new registrations in all around the year and we are happy that our popularity is steadily growing!” Judith adds.

When it comes to forming a new group, where Zeitpolster is not yet active, Judith states “Just contact us and we help you form a team. Motivation is the main requirement for a start of a new Zeitpolster group.”