Employee Support Programs Can Improve Employee Commitment For Those Who Give Or Receive

Today’s best managers know that building employee commitment to the organization is vital. One way that managers can help build employee commitment is by establishing formal programs in which employees can contribute to an employee financial support program or foundation. The program should enable employees to give as well as receive funds. Tell employees how they can contribute to the program and show them the rules that are used to distribute funds to needy employees. The process of giving to help other employees can improve the commitment that employees have to their organization.

Source: Grant, A., M., Dutton, J. E., & Rosso, B. D. 2008. Giving commitment: Employee support programs and the prosocial sensemaking process. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 898-918.

A New Definition of Employee Commitment to The Organization

Managers used to believe that employee commitment was defined as: a feeling of attachment to the organization, the perceived costs of leaving it, and a feeling of obligation to stay with the company. Today’s best managers know that commitment means that an employee is willing to go above and beyond their regular job and perform acts on behalf of the organization. Having organizational commitment means that an employee: 1) has an emotional attachment to the organization, 2) identifies with and agrees to organizational norms, goals, & values, and 3) is ready to serve the organization when called upon to do so.

Source: Solinger, O. N., Van Olffen, W., & Roe, R. A. 2008. Beyond the three component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 70-83.

Tell Stories to Help Improve Employee Commitment To the Organization

Today’s best managers know that telling stories is an important indicator of employee commitment to the organization. There are two primary purposes for telling stories in organizations: grounding and instruction. Employees tell stories to point out and clarify key values, called grounding. Employees tell stories about how things are done, called instruction. Organizational commitment means that employees have strong feelings about and identify with the goals and values of the organization. The more frequently that employees tell stories about the organization, the more strongly committed they tend to be about that organization, and the better able to withstand turbulence at work.

Source: McCarthy, J. F. 2008, April. Short stories at work: Storytelling as an indicator of organizational commitment. Group & Organization Management, 33, 163-193.