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those of the company. Others might stay because they fear what they
could lose if they leave. Still others might stay because they feel
obligated to the company, or to their manager.
Clearly, some of
these types of commitment can have a negative effect on a person's
well-being, self-respect, and job satisfaction. So, how can you avoid
this, but still help team members feel committed to your team, or
organization, in a positive way?
In this article we'll explore
three common types of commitment, and we'll look at how you can make
changes to improve team member engagement and loyalty in an effective
and positive way.
About the Model
John Meyer and Natalie
Allen developed their Three Component Model of Commitment and published
it in the 1991 "Human Resource Management Review." The model explains
that commitment to an organization is a psychological state, and that it
has three distinct components that affect how employees feel about the
organization that they work for.
The three components are:
Affection for your job ("affective commitment").
Fear of loss ("continuance commitment").
Sense of obligation to stay ("normative commitment").
You can use this model to increase commitment and engagement in your
team, while also helping people to experience a greater feeling of
well-being and job satisfaction.
Let's look at each of Meyer and Allen's three types of commitment in greater detail.
Affection For Your Job (Affective Commitment)
Affection for your job occurs when you feel a strong emotional
attachment to your organization, and to the work that you do. You'll
most likely identify with the organization's goals and values, and you
genuinely want to be there.
If you're enjoying your work,
you're likely to feel good, and be satisfied with your job. In turn,
this increased job satisfaction is likely to add to your feeling of
affective commitment.
Fear of Loss (Continuance Commitment)
This type of commitment occurs when you weigh up the pros and cons of
leaving your organization. You may feel that you need to stay at your
company, because the loss you'd experience by leaving it is greater than
the benefit you think you might gain in a new role.
These
perceived losses, or "side bets," can be monetary (you'd lose salary and
benefits); professional (you might lose seniority or role-related
skills that you've spent years acquiring); or social (you'd lose
friendships or allies).
The severity of these "losses" often
increases with age and experience. You're more likely to experience
continuance commitment if you're in an established, successful role, or
if you've had several promotions within one organization.
Sense of Obligation to Stay (Normative Commitment)
This type of commitment occurs when you feel a sense of obligation to
your organization, even if you're unhappy in your role, or even if you
want to pursue better opportunities. You feel that you should stay with
your organization, because it's the right thing to do.
This
sense of obligation can stem from several factors. You might feel that
you should remain with your organization because it has invested money
or time in your training. Or perhaps it provided a reward in advance,
such as paying for your college tuition.
This obligation can
also result from your upbringing. For instance, your family might have
stressed that you should stay loyal to your organization.
Note:
These three types of commitment are not mutually exclusive. You can
experience all three, or two of the three, in varying degrees.
Applying the Model
By applying the Three Component Model, you can help your team develop
greater positive, affective commitment. By doing this, your people are
likely to feel an increased commitment to the team and organization, and
they'll probably feel more positive and more motivated; and experience
greater job satisfaction.
It's important to do your best to
grow affective commitment, and reduce your team's reliance on
continuance and normative commitment, so that you're leading a team of
people who feel passionate for their roles.
Team members with
only continuance and normative commitment may feel bored and
unmotivated, and no leader wants a team with those attitudes! These team
members might also block enthusiastic employees, or even lower the
morale of the group.
To encourage positive changes, make sure
that you're linking people's goals with those of the team or
organization, using an approach like Management by Objectives. If
appropriate, see whether you can better align your team's roles with
their skills and interests, with techniques such as Job Crafting. It's
important to help people find purpose in their work.
Remember
that people are more likely to develop affective commitment if they
experience positive emotions at work. Doing what you can to help people
flourish is a great way to encourage people to thrive, and to enjoy the
work that they're doing. Make sure that you give praise regularly, and
create a healthy workplace, so that people are happy and productive.
Managing Continuance and Normative Commitment
In addition to helping people experience greater affective commitment,
you can also use the model to carefully manage the amount of continuance
and normative commitment that people may feel.
You can reduce
the dependency on continuance and normative commitments by being a
better leader, by working on your general team management skills, and by
thinking carefully about how your actions might influence your team
members.
Clearly, it doesn't make sense to try to reduce
continuance or normative commitment, however you should try not to rely
on it, even if you're unable to achieve affective commitment at first.
You should work on ways to ensure that team members become happy and
enjoy their work, without making them feel uncomfortable during the
process.
Bear in mind, however, that people will likely
experience continuance commitment at some point in their careers,
because they'll feel that they need to stay in their job to receive pay
and benefits. And some people will likely feel a sense of normative
commitment if their organization has invested a lot in their training
and development, for example. It's nice to have these types of
commitment, however, they're a bonus, not something you should seek to
create!
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/three-component-model-commitment.htm
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