Organizational Commitment

One thing that most employers want is a committed workforce. If employees are committed to the organization, they should work harder and stick around longer. Replacing employees is expensive, so organizational commitment is a good thing.

What most organizations don’t realize, however, is that there are different types of commitment.
Some people, for example, are committed to their organization because they truly want to be part of the organization. These people strongly believe in the values and goals of the organization.

Some people are committed to their organization because they believe that they ought to be part of the organization. This type of commitment is common in family-owned businesses where someone wants to leave, but feels a moral obligation to stay.

Finally, some people are committed to their organization because they feel like they have to be part of the organization. These people may believe that they can’t find any better option or that it would be too costly to leave.

Many managers believe that it doesn’t really matter what kind of commitment they generate, as long as their employees feel some type of commitment that makes them reluctant to leave.
But is any commitment good commitment?

Let’s answer that question by looking at a different type of relationship. It turns out that people who study marital commitment have identified the same three types of commitment in marriages.

Some people are committed to their spouse because of common goals and values. Others are committed to their spouse because they believe that they have a moral obligation to preserve the relationship. Finally, and you can see where this is going, some people are committed to their spouse because they don’t believe they can do any better or they believe that it would be too costly to leave.

Which kind of marriage seems like the most fulfilling and productive? It’s pretty obvious that people with the “want to” kind of commitment will have better relationships. On the other end of the spectrum, marriages that are based on the “have to” kind of commitment seem rather pathetic, if not dangerous.

Someone who wants to leave a marriage, but feels like they can’t, will rarely act in the best interest of the spouse. And, in fact, a person in this predicament may act in ways that harm the spouse out of resentment.

I think the same danger exists when organizations cultivate the “have to” kind of commitment among their employees. Employees who want to leave a company, but feel as though they can’t, will rarely act in the best interest of the company.

Unfortunately, out of the three types of commitment, the “have to” kind is probably the easiest to generate. All you have to do is offer high pay or expensive benefits.

People with high salaries and miserable work environments often end up feeling trapped. They want to leave, but are trapped by mortgages and car payments. These people will do enough to get by at work, but not much more.

The most difficult kind of commitment to generate is also the most valuable. The “want to” kind of commitment begins with organizational values and goals that employees are proud to help the organization pursue. The next step is a very carefully designed employee selection process. Finally, just like any spouse, employees want to feel appreciated and they want to have a voice in decisions that affect them.