Feeling Committed to Work: How Specific Forms of Work-Commitment Predict Work Behavior and Performance Over Time

Previous research revealed that commitment to more specific foci than the organization as a whole is better suited to predict specific employee behaviors. We extend this research by proposing and evaluating specific forms of work commitment that are applicable across a broad range of work situations: work-group, work-content, and work-results commitment. Two studies (N ₁ = 16,389; N ₂ = 482) supported the distinction between these forms of work commitment, in addition to affective and continuance organizational commitment. Corroborating our predictions, organizational commitment predicted organizational turnover intentions and actual turnover, whereas the three forms of work commitment substantially improved the prediction of self-reported (Study 1) and objective (Study 2) measures of internal mobility and job performance over time.     

The Relationships of Role Clarity and Organization‐Based Self‐Esteem to Commitment to Supervisors and Organizations and Turnover Intentions

We examined the relationships of role clarity and organization‐based self‐esteem with 4 dimensions of commitment to supervisors and organizations (affective, normative, perceived high sacrifice, perceived lack of alternatives) and turnover intentions. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesized 8‐factor model of commitment. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that role clarity was positively related to affective, normative, and perceived high sacrifice supervisory commitment; while it was not related to organizational commitments. Organization‐based self‐esteem was positively associated with affective commitment to organizations and supervisors; it was also negatively associated with the lack of alternatives component of supervisory and organizational commitment. Finally, the affective and high‐sacrifice dimensions of supervisory commitment related to turnover intentions via parallel forms of organizational commitment.     

The Role of Pay Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Turnover Intentions: A Two-Sample Study

This paper reports the results of a two-sample study—a sample of medical reps from pharmaceutical companies (N = 232) and a sample of respondents from multiple organizations (N = 221)—of the relationships between pay satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Hypotheses were tested using a multidimensional perspective on both pay satisfaction and organizational commitment. Results from both samples show that the effect of pay satisfaction on intended turnover is fully mediated by affective commitment and perceived sacrifice commitment. Pay satisfaction is also significantly related to normative commitment but the latter has no influence on the outcome. Finally, in the sample of medical reps, pay satisfaction significantly reduces commitment based on lack of employment alternatives, a finding that is interpreted in light of the characteristics of pay systems in pharmaceutical companies. Future directions on compensation satisfaction and commitment research are discussed.     

Psychological contract breach,affective commitment to organization and supervisor,and newcomer adjustment: A three-wave moderated mediation model

This study examines the relationship of psychological contract breach to newcomer adjustment outcomes using affective commitments to organizations and supervisors as mediators and also looks at the moderating role of affective commitment to supervisors. Drawing from data collected at three points in time among a sample of newcomers (N = 224), we found that Time 2 affective organizational commitment mediated a positive relationship between Time 1 psychological contract breach and Time 3 turnover intention and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, affective commitment to supervisors interacted with organizational commitment such that the latter was more negatively related to Time 3 outcomes at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Similarly, the indirect relationships of psychological contract breach to Time 3 outcomes were stronger and negative at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Affective commitment's role in the psychological contract breach-outcome relationships during the entry period is discussed.     

Antecedents and outcomes of unit cohesion and affective commitment to the Army

Group cohesion and affective commitment have shown to have critical relevance to military organizations in particular. The relationship between cohesion and affective commitment is established, and the two constructs share a number of common organizational antecedents and employee outcomes. The authors explored the relationship between cohesion and affective commitment in a model that incorporates antecedents (effectiveness of immediate leadership and procedural justice) and consequences (organizational citizenship behaviors [OCBs] and turnover intentions) common to both. Respondents (N = 714, 102 women, 612 men) were Canadian Army personnel. The models suggest that cohesion partially mediates the relationships between (a) perceptions of immediate leadership and affective commitment to the Army and (b) perceptions of unit procedural justice and affective commitment to the Army. Furthermore, affective commitment to the Army partially mediates the relationship between unit cohesion and turnover intentions but fully mediates the relationship between unit cohesion and OCBs. This model helps explain some common variance between unit cohesion and organizational affective commitment.     

Do Employees Leave Just Because They Can? Examining the Perceived Employability–Turnover Intentions Relationship

The relationship between perceived employability and turnover intentions seems much more complicated than what the common sense would suggest. Based on the reviewed literature, it was expected that job satisfaction, affective commitment, and perceived job security would moderate this relationship. Using a sample of working individuals from different occupations and sectors (N = 721), it was found that employees who perceived themselves as highly employable were more likely to have turnover intentions when their affective commitment was low and perceived job security was high; and the relationship was negative for employees with shorter tenures. Understanding the conditions under which perceived employability is associated with turnover intentions may help organizations design human resource policies that allow them to retain an educated and competent workforce.     

The Importance of Career Insecurity for Turnover Intentions in the Dutch Military

The effects of two dimensions of job insecurity (job loss insecurity and career insecurity) on turnover intentions were tested in a sample from the Dutch armed forces (N = 3,580) after a major downsizing operation was announced. Results suggested that especially perceptions of career insecurity increased turnover intentions. Next to this direct effect, career insecurity was also associated with lowered affective organizational commitment which in turn increased turnover intentions as well. Our results imply that, at least during downsizing operations, a multidimensional conceptualization of job insecurity helps to predict important organizational outcomes in the military. Both perceptions of the risk of losing one’s job and perceptions of possible future career opportunities are important for employee retention.     

Psychological contract breach,affective commitment to organization and supervisor,and newcomer adjustment: A three-wave moderated mediation model

This study examines the relationship of psychological contract breach to newcomer adjustment outcomes using affective commitments to organizations and supervisors as mediators and also looks at the moderating role of affective commitment to supervisors. Drawing from data collected at three points in time among a sample of newcomers (N = 224), we found that Time 2 affective organizational commitment mediated a positive relationship between Time 1 psychological contract breach and Time 3 turnover intention and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, affective commitment to supervisors interacted with organizational commitment such that the latter was more negatively related to Time 3 outcomes at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Similarly, the indirect relationships of psychological contract breach to Time 3 outcomes were stronger and negative at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Affective commitment's role in the psychological contract breach-outcome relationships during the entry period is discussed.     

Affective responses to abuse in the workplace: The role of hope and affective commitment

Affective responses constitute the mechanism by which abusive supervision received is associated with subordinates’ turnover intentions. Using affective events theory (AET) as a theoretical framework, we suggest that abusive supervision is a contextual event that is associated with subordinates’ affective reactions and corresponding evaluative judgment of their workplace, which ultimately leads to increased turnover intentions, a prominent withdrawal outcome. We examine two affective responses as mediators, hope (a goal-related affective state based on the expectation of positive outcomes) and affective commitment (affect-based evaluation of the organization). Two samples from a field study (n = 209) and an experiment (n = 427) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results supported our proposed chain of relationships, suggesting that subordinates are likely to experience decreased hope and affective commitment after having experienced abuse from a supervisor, which subsequently impact their withdrawal intention to leave the organization.     

PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: THE MATCH BETWEEN NEWCOMERS' AND RECRUITERS' PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES

This study examined the effects of two measures of fit on newcomers' commitment and turnover intentions, P-O fit and P-P fit. Newcomers preferences for organizational cultures were compared with supervisors' and peers' perceptions of organizational culture (P-O fit) and with their preferences for organizational culture (P-P fit). The supervisors and peers that were involved had been the newcomer's recruiters during the selection procedure and they had hired the newcomer. Subjects' culture preferences and perceptions yielded two dimensions of organizational culture: concern for people and concern for goal accomplishment. Results revealed that newcomers' concern for people P-P fit with their supervisor was related to organizational commitment and turnover intentions. P-O fit measures for both dimensions of organizational culture were not related to newcomer affective outcomes.     

Consequences of Positive and Negative Feedback: The Impact on Emotions and Extra-Role Behaviors

These studies examine employees’ emotional reactions to performance feedback from their supervisors as well as subsequent effects on attitudes and (intentions to show) affect‐driven work behaviors (counterproductive behavior, turnover, citizenship, and affective commitment). A pre‐study (N= 72) illustrates that employees regularly receive performance feedback from supervisors and that this feedback elicits different positive and negative emotions. Next, a scenario experiment (Study 1) comparing the effects of positive/negative feedback given in public/private was conducted, with a student sample (N= 240) and a sample of working adults (N= 107). In both samples, feedback has an impact on emotions and subsequently on work attitudes and behavioral intentions. The results from the scenario experiment were validated in a survey study (Study 2) among employees of a for‐profit research firm (N= 86) who reported on recalled emotions and work behaviors after receiving performance feedback during appraisals. Again, different types of feedback relate to different emotions. In turn, these emotions were related to subsequent work behaviors and attitudes. Together, these studies show that feedback affects recipients’ emotions and that such emotional reactions mediate the relationship between feedback and counterproductive behavior, turnover intentions, citizenship, and affective commitment. Ces travaux abordent les réactions émotives des salariés suite au feedback sur leurs performances en provenance de leur supérieur, ainsi que l’impact sur les attitudes et, au niveau des intentions, sur les conduites professionnelles soumises aux affects (comportements contre‐productifs, démissions, citoyenneté et implication affective). Une préenquête (N= 72) a montré que les salariés reçoivent régulièrement des informations sur leurs résultats de la part de leur supérieur et que cette situation provoque des émotions à la fois positives et négatives. Ensuite, une expérience (Etude n° 1) comparant les conséquences d’un feedback positif ou négatif exprimé en public ou en privé a été menée à bien sur un échantillon d’étudiants (N= 240) et sur un échantillon de travailleurs (N= 107). Dans les deux cas, la rétroaction avait des retombées sur les émotions et par suite sur les attitudes professionnelles et les intentions comportementales. Les conclusions de cette expérience ont été confirmées lors d’une enquête (Etude n? 2) réalisées auprès de salariés d’une société commerciale qui décrirent leurs émotions et leurs comportements professionnels à l’issue d’une rétroaction sur leur performance lors d’une évaluation. Comme prévu, les différentes sortes de feedback sont en relation avec des émotions différentes; puis ces émotions provoquent des attitudes et des conduites professionnelles spécifiques. Au total, ces travaux montrent que le feedback affecte les émotions des individus concernés et que ces réactions émotives s’insèrent dans la relation entre la rétroaction et les comportements contre‐productifs, les projets de démission, la citoyenneté et l’implication affective.     

Three-component commitment and turnover: An examination of temporal aspects

SEM (N = 182) was employed to examine implied temporal aspects of three-component commitment theory as they relate to turnover. Consistent with expectations, affective commitment predicted subsequent turnover in an immediate and relatively short interval of 4 months, but failed to do in a much longer but outlying interval of 5–12 months. Side bet commitment failed to predict turnover in the short, immediate interval, but did so robustly over the longer albeit more distant interval. Normative commitment predicted turnover in neither the near term nor outmonths. Turnover rates for employees with low affective commitment were much higher than those with high affective commitment in the first quarter of a 1-year monitoring period, but subsequent turnover rates were roughly the same for the two groups. In contrast, turnover for employees with low side bet commitment was only slightly higher than the high side bet group in the first quarter, but over the remainder of the year cumulative turnover for the low side bet group exceeded that for the high side bet group by increasingly large margins. These results are consistent with theory suggesting that decrements in affective commitment (1) often occur suddenly and just prior to employees' leaving and (2) reflect general disaffection and an impetus to leave that is already exists at the point of attitude measurement. Results comport with theory describing side bet commitment as (1) an appraisal of leaving costs that, in the aggregate, are unlikely to change suddenly and (2) a relatively stable attitude that serves primarily to prevent turnover should some independent motivation to leave arise.     

When and how is job embeddedness predictive of turnover? A meta-analytic investigation

The present meta-analytic study introduces an overall model of the relationships between job embeddedness and turnover outcomes. Drawing on 65 independent samples (N = 42,907), we found that on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness negatively related to turnover intentions and actual turnover, after controlling for job satisfaction, affective commitment, and job alternatives. In addition, the negative relationships between on-the-job embeddedness (off-the-job embeddedness) and turnover criteria were stronger in female-dominated samples and public organizations (collectivistic countries). Finally, turnover intentions, job search behavior, and job performance fully (partially) mediated the effect of on-the-job embeddedness (off-the-job embeddedness) on actual turnover. The research and practical implications of our findings are noted, in light of study limitations and future research needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Voluntary Retirement and Organizational Turnover Intentions: The Differential Associations with Work and Non-Work Commitment Constructs

The relationships of voluntary retirement and organizational turnover intentions to various commitment constructs in work and non-work settings were examined using a sample of 345 employees near retirement age (mean age = 53.71). The results demonstrated that work centrality and commitment to leisure activities were unique predictors of retirement intentions, while affective organizational commitment predicted turnover intentions but not retirement. Occupational commitment was a significant predictor of both retirement and turnover. The implications for revising the definition of work-role attachment theory and further developing a theoretical model to explain retirement decisions are also discussed.

Organizational commitment,turnover intentions and the influence of cultural values

The moderating influence of idiocentrism and allocentrism on the relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intentions was examined. The investigation evolved over two phases. In Study 1, emic (culture‐specific) items were generated through in‐depth interviews with Turkish employees, and the commitment scales by Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) were revised to make them more appropriate for the Turkish context. In Study 2, turnover intentions were predicted as a function of an individual's affective, continuance, normative commitment, and social factors, operationalized as the approval of the family. The results indicated that affective commitment was an important predictor of turnover intentions irrespective of idiocentric or allocentric values. However, normative commitment and social factors were weaker predictors for individuals who endorsed idiocentric, values and social factors were a stronger predictor for allocentrics. These findings underline the importance of a normative perspective on organizational commitment, especially for collectivistic contexts.     

The relationships between justice perceptions, trust, and employee attitudes in a downsized organization

The authors examined perceptions of distributive justice, procedural justice, trust, organizational commitment, organizational satisfaction, and turnover intentions among survivors in an organization that had recently completed an organizational downsizing. Results suggested that trust partially mediated the relationship between distributive justice and both organizational satisfaction and affective commitment. Additionally, the relationship between procedural justice and turnover intentions was mediated by trust perceptions.     

Is it here where I belong? An integrative model of turnover intentions

We test a mediated moderation model in which the influence of organizational prestige and permeability on turnover intentions is mediated by organizational commitment and identification. We test this model in a 2 × 2 design in four Romanian organizations. Results support a partial mediation of identification between the considered organizational antecedents, and their interaction upon affective and continuance commitment, and a full mediation of commitment between identification and turnover intentions. Permeability moderates the impact of prestige upon identification and commitment. Finally, we draw conclusions about the mind‐sets behind identification, affective, and continuance commitment, and propose implications for future research and practitioners.     

Passive leadership,role stressors,and affective organizational commitment: A time-lagged study among health care employees

IntroductionThis study examines the relationships of passive leadership and role stressors to affective organizational commitment among hospital employees.ObjectiveThis study's objective was to understand the mediating effect of role stressors (conflict, overload, and ambiguity) in the relation between passive leadership and affective organizational commitment.MethodWe used a structural equation modeling approach on a sample of 185 hospital employees and a time-lagged design in which predictor and mediators were assessed at Time 1 and affective organizational commitment was obtained 3 years later.ResultsFindings revealed that passive leadership was positively related to all three role stressors and that role ambiguity fully mediated a negative relationship between passive leadership and affective organizational commitment. Moreover, the relationship between passive leadership and role conflict was stronger when role overload was high.ConclusionThis study suggests organizations should strive to limit the emergence of passive leadership behaviors among supervisors due to their detrimental effects on the long-term development of affective commitment via role ambiguity.     

What are the odds of burnt-out risk and leaving the job? Turnover intent consequences of worker burnout using a two sample New Zealand study

Job burnout is a pressing issue for organizations, and this study explores the new Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), which provides a robust calculation of burnt-out risk. Next, the odds of high turnover intentions from burnt-out risk are calculated using two samples: (1) N = 709 employees and (2) N = 313 managers. Analysis shows the odds of burnt-out risk are higher for managers (17%) than employees (8%). High burnt-out risk in employees shows a 47% likelihood of high turnover intent versus 13% for employees with nonburnt-out risk. High burnt-out risk in managers shows a 51% likelihood of high turnover intent versus 12% for managers with nonburnt-out risk. Furthermore, moderating effects of supervisor organizational embodiment were found to interact with burnt-out risk for employees only, showing the highest turnover intent when embodiment is high, reflecting the potential backlash against the organization.     

An Assessment of Meyer and Allen's (1991) Three-Component Model of Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intentions

Propositions about the relationship between Meyer and Allen's (1991) model of organizational commitment and turnover intentions were tested via field research. Specifically, we assessed concurrent and longitudinal effects of affective, continuance, and normative commitment on turnover intentions. We tested main and interaction effects and also assessed the effects of two continuance commitment sub-dimensions—CC-hisac and CC-loalt—on turnover intentions. Two studies were conducted to test these relationships. Data were collected from a sample of engineering personnel working at an aerospace firm, and from university students employed full time in a variety of organizations. The results revealed that, (1) contrary to expectations, the three components of commitment differed in the significance of their effects on turnover intentions, and (2) the CC subdimensions differed in their effects on turnover intentions. The discussion of these results focuses on their implications for theoretical and practical issues in commitment research.