Perceptions of sacrifice, workplace friendship and career concerns as explanatory mechanisms of employees’ organisational commitment

Abstract

Orientation: Employees’ psychological attachment to their organisation remains an important topic of inquiry for organisations concerned about improving their talent management practices for the purpose of retaining valuable human capital.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to explore the constructs of job-embedded sacrifice, workplace friendship and career concerns as potential underlying explanatory mechanisms of employees’ affective, continuance and normative commitment towards the organisation. Organisational attachment theory was utilised as theoretical framework to study the relations among the variables.Motivation for the study: The notion of job-embedded sacrifice, workplace friendship, career concerns as explanatory mechanisms of employees’ affective, continuance and normative commitment in the South African higher education context is under-researched, and especially from the perspective of organisational attachment theory.Research approach/design and method: A non-probability convenience sample (N = 200) of academic and administrative staff members employed in a South African higher educational institution participated in the study. A cross-sectional, quantitative research design approach was followed. Multiple regression analysis was performed.Main findings: Person–job sacrifice positively predicted affective, continuance and normative commitment. Perceptions of friendship opportunity accounted for the variance in affective commitment. High levels of work–life adjustment career concerns accounted for higher levels of affective and normative commitment.Practical/managerial implications: Addressing the underlying psychological needs espoused by employees’ perceptions of person–job sacrifice, friendship opportunity and work–life adjustment concerns are important to consider in human resource talent management practices. The constructs speak to employees’ sense of employment security which influences their organisational commitment.Contribution/value-add: The study extends organisational attachment theory by offering insight into the role of person–job sacrifice, friendship opportunity in the workplace and work–life adjustment concerns in explaining employees’ organisational commitment. The new insights inform human resource retention practices for academic and administrative staff members in the higher education environment.

The Role of Resonant Leadership, Workplace Friendship and Serving Culture in predicting Organizational Commitment: the Mediating Role of Compassion at Work

“…However, since the mediation of compassion is uniquely positioned between organizational elements and commitment, we explain it using logical arguments. Since leadership styles, workplace friendships and a serving culture are positively associated with positive work outcomes (Coetzee et al, 2019;Liden et al, 2014; Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara & Viera-Armas, 2019), we replicate these positive outcomes with compassion at work.…”

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Measuring the effectiveness of work–life balance strategies in the manufacturing sector

“…Perry- Smith and Blum (2000) found that organisations that implement WLBS, such as flexible work arrangement, on-site day care and dependent care, experienced improved performance. A recent study performed by Coetzee et al (2017) showcase that organisational retention strategy that includes WLBS, such as flexible work arrangement, enhances…”

“…Deery and Jago (2015) suggest that a major determinant of effective implementation of WLBS is HR policy that affirms work-life balance culture. As such, it is the WLBS that an organisation has put in place that determines the extent of employees' satisfaction with work (SWW), commitment to work and turnover intention (Abe et al, 2018;Coetzee, Ferreira, & Potgieter, 2017). Studies have revealed that a supportive HR policy enhances the effective implementation of WLBS (Caillier, 2016, Daverth et al, 2016.…”

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in: the older physician in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The concept of job-embedded sacrifice influencing psychological attachment and commitment to an organization (Coetzee et al, 2019) has particular relevance to physicians. Physicians are very familiar with the notion of sacrifice (Matz, 1998) and risk to one's own health is seen as part of the role (Klitzman, 2008) making it easy to get lost in the current zeitgeist where metaphors of war, martyrdom, and heroes abound.…”