The role of identity and work-family support in work-family enrichment and its work-related consequences

Despite growing research on the positive connections between work and family, antecedents and consequences of work-family enrichment are understudied. Using a sample of employees from a major insurance company, we assessed the relationship of (i) individual (i.e., work and family identities), (ii) family (emotional and instrumental support), and (iii) organizational (benefit use and work-family culture) antecedents to work-family and family-work enrichment. We also examined whether enrichment predicted important work outcomes including organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The strength of an individual’s identity and informal or emotional support within a domain, rather than formal or instrumental support, were associated with greater enrichment. Work-family enrichment positively predicted affective organizational commitment, and family-work enrichment negatively predicted turnover intentions. Implications for individuals and organizations wanting to foster enrichment are discussed.     

Work-family Conflict,Work-family Culture,and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Among Teachers

Two hundred three teachers completed measures of work-family culture, work-family conflict, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Pearson correlations indicated that OCB was related negatively to work-family conflict, and positively to work-family culture, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that work-family culture predicts work-family conflict, and that various forms of work-family conflict predict OCB. Analyses also showed that work-family culture predicts both organizational commitment and OCB, and that organizational commitment does not mediate the relationship between work-family culture and OCB. The findings support the importance for schools to foster a positive work-family culture.     

The Role of Psychological Climate in Neutralizing the Effects of Organizational Politics on Work Outcomes

The present study examined the moderating impact of psychological climate on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and both commitment and turnover intent. Data were gathered from 131 restaurant employees who completed surveys at work. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a 6-factor conceptualization (supportive management, role clarity, contribution, recognition, self-expression, and challenge) provided the most adequate model representation of the psychological climate construct. Results indicate that politics perceptions interacted with each climate factor (with the exception of challenge) in predicting commitment. Conversely, politics perceptions interacted only with supportive management and self-expression to predict turnover intent. Implications for theoretical development and empirical research in this domain are provided.     

Affective commitment to the organization, supervisor, and work group: Antecedents and outcomes

Three longitudinal studies investigated the usefulness of distinguishing among employees’ affective commitments to the organization, the supervisor, and the work group. Study 1, with 199 employees from various organizations, found that affective commitments to these entities were factorially distinct and related differentially to their theorized antecedents. Study 2, with a diversified sample of 316 employees, showed that organizational commitment (a) had an indirect effect on turnover through intent to quit, (b) partially mediated the effect of commitment to the supervisor on intent to quit, and (c) completely mediated the effect of commitment to the work group on intent to quit. Study 3, with matched data collected from 194 nurses and their immediate supervisors, determined that (a) commitment to the supervisor had a direct effect on job performance and (b) organizational commitment had an indirect effect on job performance through commitment to the supervisor. However, Study 3 failed to show any effect of commitment to the work group on performance. These findings are interpreted in light of the relative salience of commitment foci with regard to the outcome under study.     

Beyond family-friendly: The construct and measurement of singles-friendly work culture

Although research has examined work-family issues and organizational support for employees’ family responsibilities, few studies have explored the work-life issues of single employees without children. The current study examines single employees’ perceptions of how their organizations support their work-life balance in comparison to employees with families. A multi-dimensional scale is developed assessing five dimensions of singles-friendly culture: social inclusion, equal work opportunities, equal access to benefits, equal respect for nonwork life, and equal work expectations. Employees with families perceived more equity in most of these facets than did singles. Managerial and professional employees with higher incomes also perceived their organizations as more singles-friendly. Finally, social inclusion predicted organizational commitment for single employees, and this effect was mediated by perceived organizational support. In contrast, more equal work opportunities were related to lower turnover intentions among childfree singles.     

Developmental climate: A cross-level analysis of voluntary turnover and job performance

This research investigates the influence of shared perceptions of developmental climate on individual-level perceptions of organizational commitment, engagement, and perceived competence, and whether these attitudes mediate the relationship between developmental climate and both individual voluntary turnover and supervisor-rated job performance. Survey data were collected from 361 intact employee–supervisory mentoring dyads and matched with employee turnover data collected one year later to test the proposed framework using multilevel modeling techniques. As expected, shared perceptions of developmental climate were significantly and positively related to all three individual work attitudes. In addition, both organizational commitment and perceived competence were significant mediators of the positive relationship between shared perceptions of developmental climate and voluntary turnover, as well as shared perceptions of developmental climate and supervisor-rated job performance. By contrast, no significant mediating effects were found for engagement. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.     

工作－家庭冲突的前因、后果及干预策略

随着劳动力结构与工作特点的巨大变化,工作－家庭冲突问题日益突出。国内外研究主要从工作、家庭与个体三个层面对工作－家庭冲突的前因变量、后果变量及干预策略进行了深入探讨。前因变量主要包括工作与家庭层面的压力、特点,性别等;后果变量主要涉及个体的工作家庭满意感、组织承诺、离职和心身健康;干预策略涉及家庭友好政策和个体应对方式等。作者认为今后研究可以在工作－家庭冲突积极面、跨文化研究等方面进行突破     

Volunteering for charity: pride, respect, and the commitment of volunteers

This study builds upon and extends the social-identity-based model of cooperation with the organization (T. R. Tyler, 1999; T. R. Tyler & S. L. Blader, 2000) to examine commitment and cooperative intent among fundraising volunteers. In Study 1, structural equation modeling indicated that pride and respect related to the intent to remain a volunteer with an organization, and that this relation was mediated primarily by normative organizational commitment. In Study 2, structural equation modeling indicated that the perceived importance of volunteer work was related to pride, that perceived organizational support related to the experience of respect, and that pride and respect mediated the relation between perceived importance and support on the one hand and organizational commitment on the other. Overall, the results suggest that volunteer organizations may do well to implement pride and respect in their volunteer policy, for instance to address the reliability problem (J. L. Pearce, 1993).     

Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences

The authors conducted meta-analyses to assess (a) relations among affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization and (b) relations between the three forms of commitment and variables identified as their antecedents, correlates, and consequences in Meyer and Allen's (1991) Three-Component Model. They found that the three forms of commitment are related yet distinguishable from one another as well as from job satisfaction, job involvement, and occupational commitment. Affective and continuance commitment generally correlated as expected with their hypothesized antecedent variables; no unique antecedents of normative commitment were identified. Also, as expected, all three forms of commitment related negatively to withdrawal cognition and turnover, and affective commitment had the strongest and most favorable correlations with organization-relevant (attendance, performance, and organizational citizenship behavior) and employee-relevant (stress and work-family conflict) outcomes. Normative commitment was also associated with desirable outcomes, albeit not as strongly. Continuance commitment was unrelated, or related negatively, to these outcomes. Comparisons of studies conducted within and outside North America revealed considerable similarity yet suggested that more systematic primary research concerning cultural differences is warranted.     

Side-bet theory and the three-component model of organizational commitment

We tested Becker’s (1960) side-bet conceptualization of commitment within the context of Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. Employees (N=202) from various organizations completed a survey including measures of (a) seven categories of side bets (b) affective, normative, and continuance commitment, and (c) turnover intention. The findings provided strong support for Becker’s theory. All seven side-bet categories correlated significantly with a revised measure of high-sacrifice continuance commitment, and structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the relations between the side bets and turnover intention were fully mediated by commitment. The findings also address issues pertaining to the dimensionality and measurement of continuance commitment, and help to explain relations among the three components of commitment.     

Avoiding depletion in virtual work: Telework and the intervening impact of work exhaustion on commitment and turnover intentions

Despite the tremendous growth of telework and other forms of virtual work, little is known about its impact on organizational commitment and turnover intentions, nor the mechanisms through which telework operates. Drawing upon the conservation of resources model as the theoretical framework, I posit telework’s impact is the result of resource stockpiling and flexibility as teleworkers are able to yield work and personal benefits and protect themselves from resource depletion in the office. Using a sample of 393 professional-level teleworkers in one organization, I therefore investigate the intervening role of work exhaustion in determining commitment and turnover intentions. Results indicate that telework is positively related to commitment and negatively related to turnover intentions, such that a higher degree of teleworking is associated with more commitment to the organization and weakened turnover intentions. Moreover, work exhaustion is found to mediate the relationships between teleworking and both commitment and turnover intentions.     

Personal Selling and Sales Management Abstracts

This study builds on previous research to investigate the effects of ethical climate on salesperson’s role stress, job attitudes, turnover intention, and job performance. Responses from 138 salespeople who work for a large retailer selling high-end consumer durables at 68 stores in 16 states were used to examine the process through which ethical climate affects organizational variables. This is the first study offering empirical evidence that both job stress and job attitudes are the mechanisms through which a high ethical climate leads to lower turnover intention and higher job performance. Results indicate that ethical climate results in lower role conflict and role ambiguity and higher satisfaction, which, in turn, leads to lower turnover intention and organizational commitment. Also, findings indicate that organizational commitment is a significant predictor of job performance.     

Effects of management communication, opportunity for learning, and work schedule flexibility on organizational commitment

In the current career climate characterized by change and turbulence, employees may demonstrate limited organizational commitment to their employers. Rousseau (1998) suggests that two key ways to elicit loyalty from employees today are to reinforce perceptions of organizational membership and demonstrate organizational care and support for employees. Based on her conceptual framework, we examined the separate and synergistic effects of three valued aspects of the work environment—management communication, opportunity for learning, and work schedule flexibility—on organizational commitment. With 1770 full-time and 273 part-time workers of a large national retailer, we found that all three variables had positive main effects on organizational commitment. Also, they three-way interacted to affect part-time workers’ organizational commitment. The implications of these findings for research on organizational commitment and on comparisons of full-time and part-time workers are discussed.     

The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model Revisited: Incorporating General Cognitive Ability and General Academic Self-Concept

An integrative model of the determinants of overall job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and precursors to voluntary turnover was proposed. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were proposed to arise from overlapping sets of work environment perceptions. A nonrecursive relationship was hypothesized between commitment and satisfaction. Affect (satisfaction and commitment) was proposed to mediate the effects of work environment perceptions on precursors to voluntary turnover. The model was evaluated using data obtained from 1,870 employees of a U.S. telecommunications firm. Hypotheses relating to determinants of commitment and turnover cognitions were largely supported. An asymmetric reciprocal relation was supported between overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Future research needs discussed include specification of different causal models for different forms of employee turnover.     

A meta-analysis of relations between person-organization fit and work attitudes

This article presents a meta-analytic review of 21 studies on relations of person-organization fit with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to turnover. Four specific moderators were investigated: the type of fit measure, method of calculating fit, dimensions of fit, and use of an established measure of person-organization fit. Mean effect sizes for the outcome variables ranged from −.18 for intent to turnover to .28 for organizational commitment. Subjective fit measures, the use of correlations to calculate fit, value congruence as the fit dimension, and the use of an established measure of person-organization fit increased effect sizes. Recommendations for future research on person-organization fit are suggested.     

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.     

A closer look at the relationship between affective commitment to supervisors and organizations and turnover

We examined the relationships of affective organizational commitment and affective commitment to supervisors with turnover intentions and actual turnover, using three independent samples of employees. In Sample 1 (N=172) and Sample 2 (N=186), affective organizational commitment and affective commitment to supervisors were found to exert independent negative effects on turnover intentions. Moreover, in both samples, affective commitment to supervisors was more strongly related to turnover intentions when affective organizational commitment was low. In Sample 3 (N=431), affective commitment to supervisors was the single significant predictor of actual turnover and interacted with affective organizational commitment such that its effect was stronger when affective organizational commitment was low. The implications of these findings for the understanding of the commitment–turnover relationship are discussed.     

Which Dominates? The Relative Importance of Work-Family Organizational Support and General Organizational Context on Employee Outcomes

Recent research has examined the influence of organizational work-family context on employee outcomes. However, this construct has not been investigated in concert with broader indicants of organizational context. Thus, it remains unexplored whether work-family context accounts for unique variance in employee outcomes or whether its potential effects are confounded by, or better explained by, general organizational context. This study used dominance analysis to investigate the relative effects of general organizational context and work-family context on several important employee outcomes. Results indicate that work-family context is important in explaining variance in work-family specific outcomes such as work-to-family conflict. However, work-family context fails to explain unique variance in job satisfaction and affective commitment when studied alongside three broader indicants of general organization context (perceived organizational support, perceived fair interpersonal treatment, and trust). These findings have implications for both research and practice.     

MANAGING DIVERSITY: HOW ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY MODERATE THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ON AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

Using the interactional model of cultural diversity, we examined whether the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment can be mitigated by perceived organizational efforts to support diversity. Across 3 studies, we found that perceptions of workplace racial discrimination are negatively related to affective commitment. In 2 out of 3 studies, this negative relationship was attenuated as employees perceived more organizational efforts to support diversity. Studies 1 (mostly Whites) and 2 (mostly Hispanics) showed that organizational efforts to support diversity attenuate the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment. However, in Study 3 (African Americans), results showed that when organizational efforts to support diversity are high, the negative relationship between perceived racial discrimination and affective commitment became stronger. Studies 2 and 3 also extended these results by showing that the interaction of perceived racial discrimination and organizational efforts to support diversity indirectly influences turnover intent.     

A meta-analytic review of occupational commitment: relations with person- and work-related variables

Relations between occupational commitment (OC) and several person- and work-related variables were examined meta-analytically (76 samples; across analyses, Ns ranged 746-15,774). Major findings are as follows. First, OC was positively related to job-focused constructs such as job involvement and satisfaction, suggesting that attitudes toward the job itself may be a central concern in committing to one's occupation. Second, consistent with previous work, OC and organizational commitment were positively related. This relation was found to be moderated by the compatibility of the profession and the employing organization. Third, OC was positively related to job performance and had an indirect effect on organizational turnover intention through occupational turnover intention. This latter effect suggests that understanding of organizational turnover can be enhanced by incorporating occupation-related variables into turnover models.