Hi kilode:
Thank you for the interesting question, and thanks as well for the
clarification stating that you have not done any prior research.
Because you're starting "from scratch", I will do the same. I have
grouped all the factors I found in my extensive searching into seven
separate social and psychological areas. However, there are many, many
different ways to group the existing factors, so don't take my
grouping as the only way.
As well, keep in mind that these factors are relevant in not only the
banking industry, but in any workplace environment.
For each factor, I have provided a brief description as well as one or
more quotes supporting the selection. Links are given for each quote -
reading the source documents will provide you with more insight.
I will not go too deeply into what employers are currently doing to
combat these factors - since you did not ask for this - but many of
the links provided below also speak to these issues.
If, after all this, you feel you need more, and more specific
information, you can ask me for it using the Answer Clarification
feature. Working together, we can ensure that you get the information
that you need. :-)
Social Factors
**************
1. Support from the Employer:
A feeling that management is concerned about their well-being is
crucial for employees and a leading factor in their organizational
commitment. This support can be in the areas of health, safety, social
interaction, or many others.
Quote:
"For employees, one of the most important factors in their work
environment is a sense of social support. According to the American
Journal of Health Promotion, the single best predictor of employee
commitment to an organization is their belief that management cares
about their well-being."
From: http://www.personalitypathways.com/stress.html
2. Child Care/Family Concerns:
Employees that are constantly worried about the welfare of their
family, and feel that their work is interfering with their ability to
care for them, are known to have a much mower commitment to their
organization.
Quotes:
"The Canadian National Child Care Study (Lero et al, 1992 and
1993)[xix] found that for working parents who said they had problems
finding or retaining adequate child care services during the previous
year...the most commonly reported job-related consequences
were...lower level of job commitment because of child care
problems...In the US, where the unemployment rate has been very low
for a number of years, a growing number of employers are accepting the
notion that they must do more to assist employees reconcile family and
work environments."
From: http://policyresearch.gc.ca/page.asp?pagenm=ff-fsa_workplace
"'Employers who help workers balance work and family needs will not
only retain more of their workforce but also attract new recruits
looking for companies with a "people first agenda," such as
progressive work and family programs and pay-for-performance
incentives,' said Marilynne Madigan, senior vice president, Aon
Consulting."
From: http://www.rbc.com/careers/workressurv/balance_wfl.html
3. An Environment of Open Communication:
Employees who feel that they can communicate openly (without fear of
reprisal) with both peers and management show an increased commitment
to the organization.
Quote:
"Employee involvement is one of the more recent drivers of
retention...Creating both formal and informal ways for employees to be
involved in the decision-making process not only creates more
opportunity for your top performers to excel, but also benefits the
organization through improved efficiency. We believe that
employee-sensing activities such as surveys and focus groups can help
create a culture where involvement is encouraged and employee input is
used by the organization."
From: http://www.tri-ad.com/articles-news/retaining.htm
4. Employee Compensation:
One motivating factor is employee commitment is the amount of money
(or other compensation) that they make, and whether they feel they are
being fairly treated in this regard.
Quote:
"Adams (1995) believed Managers should ensure 'equitable fairness
amongst staff in payment and treatment as underpaid, undervalued staff
have less commitment'."
From: http://www.collegetermpapers.com/TermPapers/Business/Is_Money_the_only_way_to_retain_staff.shtml
5. Employee Financial Wellness:
Employees whose companies go beyond merely paying them, to helping
them manage their personal finances, whether is crisis or not, find
the result is increased employee commitment.
Quotes:
"To measure the effectiveness of employee assistance programs, cost
benefits
analysis has been utilized. The potential costs of employee assistance
programs are
personnel, equipment, supplies, contractor fees, electricity,
telephones, other utilities, staff training, office space, shared
facilities, shared equipment, and donated time...The possible savings
are achieved through lowered medical costs, absenteeism, and job
related accidents, as well as through improved job productivity...In
addition, employee assistance programs have positive effects on
commitment to employers by providing workers a place to discuss their
problems and receive warm assistance"
From: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-4198-155242/unrestricted/2.PDF
"'We know from our past research that retirement benefits are a driver
of employee commitment," says Dave Stum, president of Aon Consulting's
Loyalty Institute. 'These results indicate an opportunity for
employers to help eliminate the mystique that surrounds personalized
retirement planning and build goodwill.'"
From:http://www.turbolook.com/news.cfm?story=9
6. Teamwork Environment:
A workplace where the employees feel they are a part of a viable,
self-supportive team, leads to greater commitment.
Quote:
"As organizations become more complex and tasks become more
specialized, organizations must create and maintain a teamwork
environment to foster a more cooperative and supportive relationship
with employees."
From: http://www.du.edu/~clittrel/motivate.htm
7. Recognition within the Organization:
Recognition both from their peers and from their management (within
hearing of their peers) is also a good way to increase worker
commitment.
Quote:
"Everyone appreciates getting credit when it is due. Occasions to
share the successes of employees with others are almost limitless.
Giving employees new opportunities to perform, learn, and grow as a
form of recognition and thanks is highly motivating for most people."
From: http://www.inc.com/articles/hr/manage_emp/motivate_emp/16412.html
Psychological Factors
*********************
1. A Feeling of Control and/or Autonomy:
When workers feel that they have some say over how their job is done
and how their work day is structured, their organizational commitment
increases.
Quote:
"One of the only means of escaping the control of the productive
system is to quit or to engage in voluntary absence. Thus the
individualised response of workers continues to be moulded [sic] by
the overall control system to which they are subjected"
From: http://www.swan.ac.uk/ebms/research/working%20papers/EBMS%202000%202.pdf
2. Trust:
Employees who trust the actions and motives of their organization and
their peers have a higher level of job commitment.
Quote:
"Trust between individuals and groups is a highly important ingredient
in the long-term stability of the organization and the well-being of
its members"
From: http://www.sherpahigherperformance.com/model.cfm
3. (Job) Security:
If an employer demonstrates to their employees that, as long as they
do their job well, their employment is secure, then this causes an
increase in organizational commitment. The opposite is, of course,
also true.
Quote:
"Job security - needed for employees to feel permanence and mutuality
in the employment relationship."
From: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072470089/student_view0/chapter4/chapter_outline.html
4. Feelings of Company Ownership:
When employees are given a stake in the company (through profit
sharing, share options, share purchasing plans, etc.), this can affect
their level of commitment to the organization - not necessarily for
the better.
Quotes:
"For most people, stock options are like the lottery. People are
hoping to strike it rich and then quit." David smiled and said, 'What
an interesting thing! We've built an organization in which your
motivation for coming to work is to make a lot of money -- so that you
can get the hell out of the organization.'"
From: http://www.fastcompany.com/online/19/toxic.html
5. Feelings of Process Ownership:
When employees feel that they know what is going on and they can
affect the way things are done in the organization, that they can make
a tangible difference, their commitment level increases.
Quotes:
"Information is power, and employees want to be empowered with the
information they need to know to do their jobs better and more
effectively. And, more than ever, employees want to know how they are
doing in their jobs and how the company is doing in its business. Open
the channels of communication in an organization to allow employees to
be informed, ask questions, and share information."
From: http://www.inc.com/articles/hr/manage_emp/motivate_emp/16412.html
6. Opportunities for Growth:
Knowing that their organization is one where they can expect to be
allowed and encouraged to grow, both personally and professionally, is
a strong commitment motivator.
Quote:
"'I have a chance in this organization to learn new skills.' Employees
who agree with this statement are twice as likely to report that they
would stay with the organization than are employees who disagree. This
factor is especially strong in the high technology industry, where a
premium has been placed on keeping skills updated."
From: http://www.tri-ad.com/articles-news/retaining.htm
7. Stress:
Obviously, a higher level of (psychological) stress will decrease an
employee's commitment to the organization.
Quote:
"In addition, occupational commitment had a positive influence,
whereas stress had a negative influence on job satisfaction and
commitment to the organization."
From: http://www.ptjournal.org/Oct2002/v82n10p984-abs.cfm
Other Information
*****************
The following pages/sites have additional valuable information for
your review.
FACT OR FICTION: FIVE ISSUES ABOUT WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
http://econ.massey.ac.nz/CPPE/papers/cppesp01/cppesp01.htm
Annotated Bibliography Workplace Well-Being May 2002
http://www.survey-sondage.gc.ca/1999/abwwb-memtba1_e.html
Aon Consulting: Employee Commitment Studies
http://www.aon.com/us/busi/hc_consulting/integrated_solutions/commitment_studies/default.jsp
ORGANIZATIONAL DIAGNOSTICS
http://od-online.com/orgmsrs.asp
I hope that this answer has been of assistance to you. Please feel
free to request clarification of anything I have written if you need
it.
Thank you for using Google Answers.
websearcher-ga
Search Strategy:
"social factors" OR "psychological factors" "worker commitment"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22social+factors%22+OR+%22psychological+factors%22+%22worker+commitment%22
worker OR employee commitment
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=worker+OR+employee+commitment
"organizational commitment" "employee input"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+%22employee+input%22
"organizational commitment" "teamwork environment"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+%22teamwork+environment%22
"organizational commitment" "job security"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22organizational+commitment%22+%22job+security%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&start=10&sa=N
"organizational commitment" trust
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+trust
"organizational commitment" stress
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+stress
"Toxic Company Fast Company"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22Toxic+Company+Fast+Company%22
Aon Consulting employee commitment
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=Aon+Consulting+employee+commitment |
Clarification of Answer by
websearcher-ga
on
06 Oct 2002 09:32 PDT
Hi kilode:
I decided to do some more research before waiting for any further
clarification request from you. This time I focused my search on
statistics that would link self esteem, personality traits, age, sex,
and marital status to organizational commitment.
The overall conclusions I was able to come to from the data I examined
was:
Age: Definite relation to organizational commitment with older
employees typically being more committed.
Gender/Sex: Very little relation to organizational commitment, with a
slightly higher commitment for women.
Marital Status: Some relation to organizational commitment with
married workers being more committed.
Self Esteem: Definite relation to organizational commitment, with
higher self-esteem meaning higher commitment.
The following are some of the data/studies that back up my findings.
Study: Journal if Extension: Job Satisfaction and Commitment of 4-H
Agents
URL: http://www.joe.org/joe/1994june/rb2.html
Quote:
"Commitment of agents was significantly related to age (r = .17),
marital status (r = -.20) and work experience (r = .20). Agents who
were older (over 40 years of age), married, and had worked longer for
extension were more committed to their organizations than younger,
single and less experienced agents. Educational level, gender, and
source of salary funding were not related to organizational
commitment."
Study: PREDICTORS OF AFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AMONG HIGH
SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
URL: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-32298-1310/unrestricted/DISSERTATION.PDF
Quotes:
"trial employment period, ages 30 and under; stabilization employment
period, ages 31-44; and maintenance employment period, ages 45 and
above. Trial period employees obtained a mean organizational
commitment rating of 4.13 (SD = 1.01), stabilization period employees
obtained a mean rating of 4.31 (SD = 1.03), and maintenance level
employees obtained a mean rating of 4.76 (SD = .92)."
"Mean levels of employee commitment by age categories were: 26 years
or less, 10.68; ages 27-44, 10.53; and, ages 45 years and up, 10.94"
"Overall, age has a consistent, although moderate, correlation with
organizational commitment."
"The foregoing research suggested that gender is not a determinant of
commitment. Job-model research indicated that men and women are
similar with respect to organizational commitment."
Study: More than a Matter of "Bootstraps": Under-explored Contributors
to Gender Differences in Organizational Outcomes
URL: http://siop.org/tip/backissues/tipoct96/hartel.htm
Quote:
"In fact, in this study women were found to be more satisfied with
various aspects of work and more committed to their company than were
men." Caroline and Jeff conclude, "This message should be strongly
communicated to managers so that the stereotype of women as casual
workers who are not interested in promotions or challenging
assignments can be eliminated." Another study by "Betsy Cooper and
Laura Beauvais found no gender differences in job, career, or
organizational commitment", no differences in the commitment of
married versus single persons, and no differences in the commitment of
employees with children versus employees without children. "
Study: SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF
COLLEGE FACULTY
URL: http://www.aiias.edu/academics/sgs/info/v2n1/oberholster_spirituality_commitment.html
Quote:
"There was also a small but statistically significant relationship
between marital status and organizational commitment favoring those
who were unmarried. Significant positive relationships were found
between organizational commitment and respondent age, years of service
in the SDA education system..."
Study: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Relationships Between Job
Information Sources, Applicant Perceptions of Fit, and Work Outcomes
URL: http://www.personnelpsychology.com/ted103.htm
Quote:
"The results indicate that the number of formal job information
sources and self-esteem were positively related to perceptions of P-J
fit, and formal job information sources were positively related to
perceptions of P-O fit. Perceptions of P-J fit were positively related
to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational
identification, and negatively related to stress symptoms and
intentions to quit."
I hope this additional information is of assistance.
Thank you.
websearcher-ga
Search Strategy:
"organizational commitment" age
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+age
"organizational commitment" gender
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+gender
"organizational commitment" "marital status"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22organizational+commitment%22+%22marital+status%22
"organizational commitment" "self esteem"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22organizational+commitment%22+%22self+esteem%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off
|
