Organizational Commitment 3

Learning Goals What is organizational commitment? What is withdrawal behavior? How are the two connected? What are the three types of organizational commitment, and how do they differ? What are the four primary responses to negative events at work? What are some examples of psychological withdrawal? Of physical withdrawal? How do the different forms of withdrawal relate to each other? What workplace trends are affecting organizational commitment in today’s organizations? How can organizations foster a sense of commitment among employees?

Organizational Commitment Employees who are not committed to their organizations engage in withdrawal behavior.

Organizational Commitment and Employee Withdrawal Figure 3-1

Discussion Question What creates a desire to remain a member of an organization?

Types of Commitment Affective commitment Continuance commitment Normative commitment Focus of commitment

Three Types of Organizational Commitment Table 3-1

Drivers of Overall Organization Commitment Figure 3-2

Affective Commitment Employees who feel a sense of affective commitment identify with the organization, accept that organization’s goals and values, and are more willing to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization.

A Social Network Diagram Erosion model Social influence model Figure 3-3

Continuance Commitment Continuance commitment exists when there is a profit associated with staying and a cost associated with leaving. Tends to create a more passive form of loyalty. Embeddedness

Embeddedness and Continuance Commitment, Cont’d Table 3-2

Normative Commitment Normative commitment The sense that people should stay with their current employers may result from personal work philosophies or more general codes of right and wrong developed over the course of their lives. Build a sense of obligation-based commitment among employees

Discussion Questions Which type of organizational commitment (affective, continuance, or normative) do you think is most important to the majority of employees? Which do you think is most important to you?

Withdrawal Behaviors Exit Voice Loyalty Neglect

Four Types of Employees Task Performance High Low Stars Citizens Lone wolves Apathetics Organizational Commitment Low High Table 3-3

Task Performance and Organizational Commitment Stars Citizens Lone wolves Apathetics

Discussion Questions How big of a problem is psychological withdrawal? Is withdrawal always bad?

Psychological Withdrawal Psychological withdrawal consists of actions that provide a mental escape from the work environment. (“warm-chair attrition”) Daydreaming Socializing Looking busy Moonlighting Cyberloafing

Physical Withdrawal Physical withdrawal consists of actions that provide a physical escape, whether short term or long term, from the work environment. Tardiness Long breaks Missing meetings Absenteeism Quitting

Psychological and Physical Withdrawal Figure 3-4

Psychological and Physical Withdrawal, Cont’d Independent forms model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors are uncorrelated with one another, occur for different reasons, and fulfill different needs on the part of employees.

Psychological and Physical Withdrawal, Cont’d Compensatory forms model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors negatively correlate with one another—that doing one means you’re less likely to do another.

Psychological and Physical Withdrawal, Cont’d Progression model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors are positively correlated: The tendency to daydream or socialize leads to the tendency to come in late or take long breaks, which leads to the tendency to be absent or quit.

What Does It Mean to Be a “Committed” Employee? Figure 3-5

Trends that Affect Commitment Diversity of the workforce By 2012, minority groups will make up one-third of the workforce 47 percent of the jobs are filled by women The workforce is aging More and more employees are foreign-born

Trends that Affect Commitment, Cont’d The change in employee–employer relationships brought about by a generation of downsizing makes it more challenging to retain valued employees. Psychological contracts Some employees develop transactional contracts that are based on a narrow set of specific monetary obligations. Other employees develop relational contracts that are based on a broader set of open-ended and subjective obligations.

Application: Commitment Initiatives Perceived organizational support reflects the degree to which employees believe that the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being.

Commitment Initiatives, Cont’d From a normative commitment perspective, the employer can provide various training and development opportunities for employees. IBM If withdrawal behaviors occur, stop the progression in its early stages by trying to root out the source of the reduced commitment.

Takeaways Commitment and withdrawal are negatively related to each other—the more committed an employee is, the less likely he or she is to engage in withdrawal. There are three types of organizational commitment. Affective commitment occurs when an employee wants to stay and is influenced by the emotional bonds between employees. Continuance commitment occurs when an employee needs to stay and is influenced by salary and benefits and the degree to which he or she is embedded in the community. Normative commitment occurs when an employee feels that he or she ought to stay and is influenced by an organization investing in its employees or engaging in charitable efforts.

Takeaways, Cont’d Employees can respond to negative work events in four ways. Exit is a form of physical withdrawal in which the employee either ends or restricts organizational membership. Voice is an active and constructive response by which employees attempt to improve the situation. Loyalty is passive and constructive; employees remain supportive while hoping the situation improves on its own. Neglect is a form of psychological withdrawal in which interest and effort in the job decreases.

Takeaways, Cont’d Consistent with the progression model, withdrawal behaviors tend to start with minor psychological forms before escalating to more major physical varieties. Psychological withdrawal examples include daydreaming, socializing, looking busy, moonlighting, and cyberloafing. Physical withdrawal examples include tardiness, long breaks, missing meetings, absenteeism, and quitting. The increased diversity of the workforce can reduce commitment if employees feel lower levels of affective commitment or less embedded in their current jobs. The employee–employer relationship can reduce affective and normative commitment, making it more of a challenge to retain talented employees.