Employment Commitment

Employment Commitment

Introduction

One of the major challenges within the Human Resources Department is to successfully create a sense of belonging among the collaborators of the company. In this article, I will go through the different types of engagement or commitment and the variety of aspects needed to create a more unified environment in an organization.

What is Employment Commitment?

A big number of authors have tried to define what commitment in a company or organization truly means but it's not a simple task. This term involves different aspects related to the effective union of the organization, the collaborators’ wages, and the obligation of belonging to a company. So, we could say that it is the degree with which an individual identifies themselves with one organization or company in particular and their participation in it.

Commitment can be described by three main factors: A) a strong conviction in and acceptance of the objectives and values of the organization B) the disposition to make a considerable effort in benefit of the organization, and C) the strong desire of staying as a member of the organization.

Engagement is closely linked to motivation (learning processes, challenges, tasks, etc.) and the person’s sense of belonging within the company. This is why it's so important to try and boost both factors in any company to create a more friendly culture.

Employment Satisfaction vs. Employment Commitment

These two concepts usually create confusion when defining employment engagement because they are similar ideas yet they have different goals.

Satisfaction is linked to success; it covers a necessity that, when covered, the level of satisfaction grows, but will, sooner rather than later, decrease again. However, when it comes to engagement, we’re talking about a more controllable and stable dimension. Even though it takes more effort to increase engagement, it is not so prone to varying because of small setbacks.

Types of Commitment

  • Affective: It consists of the care and love that the individual feels for the company. This bond depends on the connection they feel to it in relation to its values, culture, mission, vision, etc. This could perfectly be the most important type of engagement, as it is difficult to break and creates loyalty and brand ambassadors.
  • Continuance: It’s the fear of loss. It is linked to the economic necessities and insecurities of the employee.
  • Normative: It is characterized by the feeling of duty from the employee toward the organization. This is based on the thankfulness and loyalty the individual has to the company. For instance, because of trainings the company has offered them, or because the employee feels they are essential to it and losing them would cause serious damage to the company.

How can you improve Employment Commitment?

There are several factors that contribute to a higher commitment, some of them are:

  • Staying true to the company’s values: They improve the sense of belonging to the company.
  • Connection between employees’ and the company’s strategy: It is important that those who work in the company know the path the company itself wants to follow. This will make their actions follow the same path.
  • Strengthen the affective bond of the employees: Organizing after-office events helps the culture of the company grow beyond the workplace and the employees take this action as good behavior.
  • Enhance the quality of life of the employees: Conciliation and flexibility are truly relevant when it comes to the commitment of an employee.
  • Take care of the employee’s education and training: Get to know what areas the employee can improve in and provide them with the means to do it. This will not only be reflected inside the company, but in the interests of the individuals.
  • Establish achievable goals: Knowing the difficulties that a task entails and the capabilities of your employees to do them will, without a doubt, facilitate the course of action. Match the task to the employee perfectly so they can accomplish them.
  • Enjoy yourself in order to concentrate more: Make sure everyone can have a little fun without losing focus of the main goals.
  • Make everyone feel safe: Transparency and internal communication are key in order to minimize mistrust and the spread of rumors.

Conclusion

All in all, what you need to do in order to have a better employment commitment is to provide different incentives. These may vary depending on the possibilities the company has, yet the employee must know they are there. The key is to make the members of your organization feel satisfied and aware of what the company has to offer. When the employee feels appreciated by their place of work, their productivity increases.