THE EFFECT OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES ON THE WORK COMMITMENT OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN WORKERS

A RESEARCH REPORT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTERS OF SCIENCE (M.SC) IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

BY

PG/M.SC/00/28111

OKEREKE, NGOZI CHIZOBA

MAY, 2004

CERTIFICATION PAGE

Okereke, N. C., a postgraduate student in the Department of Psychology

with Reg. No. PG/M.Sc/00/28111 has satisfactorily completed the

requirements for course and research work for the degree of M.Sc in

Industrial/Organizational Psychology. The work embodied in this

thesis/dissertation/project report is original and has not been submitted in part

or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University.

SUPERVISOR, PROF. J. O. C. OZIOKO

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT EXTERNAL EXAMINER

DEDICATION

To my parents Christopher and Josephine Okereke.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I express my profound gratitude to my supervisor Prof. J. O. C. Ozioko

for his valuable and immense academic suggestions. I am also unreservedly

indebted to my parents Mr. and Mrs C. V. O. Okereke for their encouragement,

moral and financial support. My sincere gratitude also goes to my darling

husband, Mr. R. R. Mbonu for his lover, care, encouragement and support. I

cannot be less grateful to my brothers IK, Anozie and my younger sister Chika

for their moral and social support.

Finally, my appreciation goes to Prof. E. Okpara, Prof. I. E. Eyo and

other lecturers in the Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka.

Okereke Ngozi Chizoba

May, 2004

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of family responsibility on work commitment

of professional women workers. Two hundred (200) women employees

engaged in the financial institutions were used as participants. One hundred

and twenty (120) were unmarried while eighty (80) were married. Among the

married ones, thirty-eight (38) had children while forty-two (42) had no child.

The participants were selected using stratified random sampling method. The

instrument that was used is the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire

(OCQ) developed by (Mowday, Porter and Steers, 1979). The Chi Sq statistics

was used for data analysis. Three hypotheses were postulated and they are

H0:1) – increase in family roles would not significantly affect work

commitment of women, (H0:2) – age of the youngest child would not

significantly affect a mother’s commitment to work and (H):3) – the number of

children a woman has would not significantly affect her work commitment.

Result of the X2 analysis indicated that none of the hypotheses was significant

(P>0.05). The findings and their implications were discussed and the

limitations of the study were stated and suggestions made for further research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE i CERTIFICATION ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv ABSTRACT v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF APPENDICES viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 6 PURPOSE OF STUDY 7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 9 THEORETICAL REVIEW 12 EMPIRICAL REVIEW 17 HYPOTHESES 36 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 37 PARTICIPANTS 37 INSTRUMENTS 38 PROCEDURES 39 DESIGN/STATISTICS 39 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 40 SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS 42 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION 43 IMPLICATIONS OF STUDY 45 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 46 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 46 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 48 REFERENCES 49 APPENDICES 59

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:

A 3x2 Contingency Table showing increase in family roles and its influence on

work commitment.

Table II:

A 2x2 Contingency Table showing age of the youngest child and its influence

on work commitment.

Table III:

A 2x2 Contingency Table showing the number of children and its influence on

work commitment.

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix I: Questionnaire

Appendix II: chi sq (X2) analysis of scores on increase in family roles and work

commitment.

Appendix III: chi sq (X2) analysis of scores on age of the youngest child and

work commitment.

Appendix IV: chi sq (X2) analysis of scores on number of children and work

commitment.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the concept of

commitment as regards the work place (Benkhoff, 1997; Mathieu & Zajac, 1990).

One of the main reasons for the tremendous interest in this area is the belief that

commitment has been found to be a more stable attitude than job satisfaction. It has

also been found to be an effective and reliable predictor of positive organizationally

relevant behaviours, such as innovation, job performance and relatively co-related to

absenteeism, tardiness and turnover, (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990). Thus, employee

commitment would appear to be related to organizational effectiveness.

With the increased popularity of the concept of commitment, researchers have

turned their attention to multiple commitments (e.g. Becker, 1992; Clugston, Howell

& Dorfman, 2000; Morrow & McElory, 1993). In addition to the organization as a

focus of commitment, some foci have been suggested which include occupations, top

management, supervisors, co-workers, work and customers (Knippenberg & Schie,

2000; Meyer, Allen & Smith 1993).

The Concept of Commitment

An introduction into the concept of commitment is essential because of the

wide variety in conceptualization that the term elicits. To the sociologists, the

concept means the behavior of individuals who engage in consistent lines of activity

in the manner characteristic of that group (Becker, 1960). To the psychologists, it is

psychological state not just elicited behavior, but also attitude, (Goss, 1996).

There are two major approaches to the description of the term; (a) The

behavioural approach; this approach describes commitment as an overt manifestation,

for example, in the organizational context, such behaviours may include intent to

remain in the organization as well as behviours that exceed normal expectations.

These, commitment are inferred from the individual’s acts or behavior. (b) The

attitudinal approach: Attitudinal commitment is conceptualized in terms of the

relative strength of an individual’s identification with the organization (Meyer &

Allen, 1984). This approach represents a state in which the individual identifies with

a particular organization and its goals and to desire to maintain membership in order

to facilitate these goals (Monday, Steers & Porter, 1979).

Women and Paid Labour

In the world today, a huge number of married women continue to enter the

work force in large numbers. This situation is found in developed countries as well as

developing nations as noted by (Andah, 1990). This increase has been related to a

number of factors viz.: increase in the number of educated women and the

opportunities of earning income outside the home. Women are also working to

become economically independent and to be able to support their families. Finally

some women work for psychological reasons i.e. to have a sense of fulfillment.

In recent years, a number of researches have been carried out on women and

paid labour with most of them focusing on the effects of the employment of women

on family life, such as effect on children’s development marital satisfaction and

number of children, (Menaghan & Parcel, 1990). However less attention seems to

have been paid to the influence of family life on work behavior such as work

commitment and job performance.

In an effort to define the variable of married woman’s employment, the

concept of work commitment has been differently conceptualized from study to study

(Meyer & Allen, 1997). In some studies, work commitment of the female employee

has been defined in terms of overt behavior. In this case, the woman forgoes

alternative courses of action and chooses to link herself to the organization. This is

called the behavioural approach. In some cases it has been defined as the woman’s

intention to work at different stages of the family cycle or under financial conditions,

(Meyer & Allen, 1991). According to the behaviourist, commitment is demonstrated

by overt manifestations of commitment (Mowday, Steers and Porter, 1979) to the

organization such as extra-role behaviours that link employees to their respective

institutions. The second major approach is the attitudinal approach. Her the woman’s

work commitment is measured by the level of her involvement in and identification

with her specific work firm. In this approach, work commitments refer to the attitude

and value the woman places on her work or organization. This approach is the most

popular method of examining the concept, (Legge, 1995). In contrast to the

behavioural approach, the attitudinal approach recognizes that “the identity of the

person is linked to the organization, Sheldon (1971) and thus the person develops an

emotional or psychological attachment to his/her employers.

The career Stereotypes of Women

In most cultures today, the primary role of the woman is still that of a mother.

In Nigeria, for example, women are seen as fulfilled adults only when they have

children and are seen as responsible when they are married and take adequate care of

their family whether their work is tasking or not. Women all over the world,

especially the married ones are not allowed at any given time to place a greater

importance on their work rather than to their family. Some women i.e. university

lecturers, lawyers who are highly educated do not always admit to having a high

commitment to work than to their family because they are aware that such attitude or

behaviours are deviant. Women especially those Britain and United States who show

more commitment to their work roles than their family roles often constitute a very

distinct group.

A good example of this career stereotype was given by Ngeow, (2002). She

narrated how a female friend of hers who just gave birth to her second baby attended

an important managers meeting during her confinement period, only to find out that

her male colleagues thought she was either suffering from post natal depression or

trying to show off. While acknowledging the necessity of attending the meeting, the

other female workers did not sympathize with her. She was thought to have set a bad

example for them by doing “too much” for the company and neglecting her child. A

man, who rushes back to the office after his wife was delivered of a child, perhaps

would not be criticized. The reason is because it seems conventionally accepted that

men’s identities are tied more closely to work than women’s. Men are supposed to

work longer hours than women do because the men are breadwinners of the family,

even though they are not the only one to do so.

This stereotyped attitude about women’s career has led to considerable debate

if not controversy about married women’s commitment to paid work. A lot of people

argue that it is only a small minority of married women 20% who are work centered,

prioritizing home over paid work (Covin & Brush, 1991). Thus, women are

heterogeneous in their work orientation while men are more homogeneously work

centered. This difference in men and women’s commitment to work is as a result of

different constraints and expectations that lead to different orientation.

This belief that household and family responsibilities are primarily and

properly the domain of women is one of the major social determinants of the pattern

of female employment and has important influence over their work behavior. Glass

& Riley, (1998) noted that while human capital variables, such as education and age,

play a role in determining a woman’s attachment to the work force, it appears that the

woman’s attitudes about parenting is also important.

Using intention to work in the future as an indicator of work commitment,

Glass & Riley (1998) also tried to test the hypothesis which says that pregnant

women with less traditional attitudes toward parenting will plan to work later into

their pregnancies and plans to return to work quickly following childbirth than

pregnant women with more traditional attitude toward parenting. Their result

indicated that pregnant women with less traditional attitude toward parenting plans to

work later into their pregnancy and return quickly to work than pregnant women with

more traditional attitude towards parenting.

WORK AND FAMILY LIFE

The reciprocal effect

As married women continue to enter the work force in large numbers, the

reciprocal interactions between work life and family life brings about role expansion.

This role expansion stems from the fact that, although these women are assuming the

demanding new role of ‘employee’, they are typically not free to relinquish any of

their previous traditional roles (Ferree, 1990; Thompson & Walker, 1989). This

consequently leads to role overload or role interference, and thus can bring about

work and family conflict.

Work and family conflict arises when there is not enough time or energy to

meet the commitments of multiple roles or the expectations and demands of these

two roles (Glezer & Wolocott, 1999). This has a potential repercussion for the

women themselves, for their families, and for their employing institutions. As they

struggle to fulfill multiple obligations, these women are often subjected to increased

stress, as new role relationships have to be negotiated and refined (Menaghan &

Percel, 1990).

For the employing institutions the potential consequences of role expansion

are much less understood. Reichers, (1986) has shown that multiple role

commitments to several constituencies crate psychological conflict for individuals,

and result in decreased levels of global organizational commitments.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

For the employed wife or mother, the difficulty of combining wage labour

with domestic task arises from the fact that paid wage labour usually involves

working in a bureaucratically organized work situation with rigid work-time

schedules and authority structures. Thus, working women particularly those with

children/husband seem to be faced with the problem of managing their two roles,

both of which are not always compatible. The incompatibility between the two roles

arises because being a mother makes demands that are often contradictory to the

demands on the time and energy of a working wife. Therefore the working wife or

mother can anticipate varying degrees of role conflict and role stress (Frone & Rice,

1987; Guelzow, Bird & Koball, 1991), which can negatively affect the woman’s

commitment to work. The woman is now left with the option of choosing the goal of

one constituency at the expense of another. It is important to note that the choice she

makes depends on the amount of value or importance she places on each role.

One potential and conventional expectation is that role expansion will result in

less commitment to work. This is apparently the expectation held by many mangers

of employees who become mothers (Burden & Googins, 1987; Lobel, 1991).

Hughes, (1991) noted that the biggest fear among many employers is that a

once assertive female executive will ease up on the job, then take paid maternity

leave and never return. Thus, inspite of a woman’s commitment and

accomplishments, she may become instantly a suspect if she becomes pregnant.

The reasoning here is that a person’s energy and time availability are limited;

and that a person attempting to fill two or more time and energy intensive roles will

be less available for either one (Bielby & Bielby, 1988). In turn this reduced

availability must be reflected in one’s commitment to work.

Therefore, the main focus of this study is to find out whether the following

variables, increase in family roles, age of the youngest child and the number of

children a woman has plays any reliable role in her commitment to paid work.

Hence the study will attempt to answer the following questions

1. Does increase in family roles influence commitment to work?

2. Does age of the youngest child affect a mother’s commitment to her work?

3. Does the number of children a woman has affect her commitment to work?

PURPOSE OF STUDY

Most studies on work and the interdependence of work and family roles have

focused mostly on the potential consequences of role expansion on family life

(Menaghan & Parcel, 1990). Little work is available that examines the effect of

women’s role expansion on the employee role.

The primary purpose of this study will therefore be to assess the effect of

increase in family roles, age of children and the number of children on the work

commitment of professional female employees engaged in financial institutions.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

Family responsibility: This refers to the life role inherited by one as a parent

or spouse i.e. marital role, parental and home-care roles.

Professional Women: women who are engaged in occupation requiring

advanced education and special training.

Work Commitment: as used in this study refers to the attitude and value a

woman places on her work organization. It is measured by the level of a woman’s

involvement in and identification with her specific work firm.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Theories of Work and Family

Scrutiny of the literature shows five main models of the relationship between

life at work and life at home (Barke & Bradshaw 1978; Kanungo & Misra, 1994).

The models all focus on the individual rather than on the family unit. Generally, they

assume that work has an impact on family, and to a much lesser degree, that family

has an impact on work.

The theories are as follows:

1) The Spillover Theory: Asserts that there is a similarity between what occurs

in the work environment and what occurs in the family environment, (Staines,

1980), such that happiness at work leads to happiness at home. In addition, a

person’s work experiences are assumed to influence what she or he does away

from work. Each environment induces similar structural patterns in the other

environment. In other words, there are no boundaries for ones behavior. In an

attempt to refine this theory, Payton – Miyazaki & Brayfield, (1996) offered

the following amplifications.

(i) The notion that works is addictive, that is feelings about a job are a component

of feelings about life in general and thus satisfaction with a job increases life

satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the job lessens general satisfaction.

(ii) The view that work can lead to alienation, that is negative feelings about a job

directly influence feelings of life in general. For example, a person who feels

belittled by a job will belittle himself or herself or others, and

(iii) Cognitive/behavioural view of work, which states that a job is a socializing

force, which enables the worker to learn skills and values, expectancies, self-

conception, social philosophies that carry over into family interactions.

Implicit here, is that the effects of role-expansion depend less on energy or on

conscious choice and more on the individual’s global satisfaction with his/her current

life situation (Campbell, Campbell & Kennard, 1994).

The theory assumes that employees who are committed to and are effective in

their family role will carry over the same enthusiasm and commitment to their

employee role. Campbell, Campbell & Kennard, (1994) tested the above assumption

and their findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between

commitment to family roles and commitment to work roles. It is important to note

that spill over is generally discussed in terms of positive relationships, but is also

possible to have negative spill over (Piotrkowski, 1978).

2) Compensation Theory: The theory postulates that there is an inverse

relationship between work and family such that work and non-work

experiences tend to be antithetical, (Staines, 1980). Individuals make

differential investments of themselves in the two settings and make up for one

what is missing in the other (Evans & Batholome, 1984).

Compensation theory has been discussed in terms of components.

i) Supplemental compensation:- which occurs when desirable experiences,

behaviours and psychological states are insufficiently present in the work

situation is pursued in family activities.

ii) Reactive compensation:- Occurs because deprivations experienced in work

are made up or compensated for in non-work activities. The theory assumes

that the individual is motivated to fulfill all her roles well, but physical and

psychological resource limitations require her to satisfy all roles. If such an

assumption is not valid, then another possibility exists. Instead of an equal

division of energy, role expansion might lead to quite high levels of work

commitment for some women, as they switch their energy and time from less

attractive family role to a more attractive work role.

iii) Segmentation theory:- The theory posits that work and family environments

are distinct and that an individual can function successfully in one area

without the influence on the other (Evans & Bartholome, 1984; Payton –

Miyazaki & Brayfield, 1996).

The two environments exist side by side, and for all practical purposes

are divorced from each other. The separation in time, space and function

allows the individual to neatly compartmentalize his or her life. The family is

seen as the realm of affectivity, intimacy, and significantly ascribed relations,

whereas the world of work is viewed as impersonal, competitive and

instrumental rater than expressive (Piotrkowski, 1978).

iv) Instrumental Theory:- Suggests that one’s environment is a means by which

things are obtained in the other. For example, work outcomes lead to good

family life and are means by which to get some of the pleasures of life (Evans

& Bartholome, 1984; Payton – Miyazaki & Bray-field, 1976).

v) Conflict Theory:- Posits that satisfaction or success in one environment

entails sacrifices in the other; the two environments are incompatible because

they have distinct norms and requirements (Evans & Bartholomew, 1984).

Theories on the process of work commitment

1) Retrospective Rationality and Commitment to work

This theory posits that individuals adjust their preferences and subjective

investments to conform to past behaviours to the extent they are explicit, irrevocable,

public and volitional (Salancik 1977).

Applied mostly to the study of organizational commitment, the perspective is

equally applicable to commitment to paid work and family roles (O’Reilly &

Caldwell, 1981; Pfeffer & Lawler, 1980). The perspective predicts that as individuals

find themselves constrained by a particular pattern of employment and family

responsibilities, they tend to change their subjective attachments to the roles that are

consistent with those constraints.

Becker (1960) offered a similar notion of the commitment process, which he

called the Side-bet or Simple Exchange Paradigm. According to his theory,

commitment comes into being when a person by making a side-bet, links extraneous

interests with consistent line of activity. Becker (1960) suggests that the more an

employee has accumulated investments i.e., pension rights, security of employment

and vacation credit and thus could loose by leaving the employing organization, the

greater the employee’s commitment. Under this concept, commitment is primarily a

structural phenomenon, which occurs as a result of employee organizational side-bets

or investments over time.

Referring to commitment to work, Becker (1960), states, “If for instance a

person refuses to change his job even though the new job offers him a higher salary

and better working conditions, we should suspect that his decision is as a result of

commitment. It then means that other sets of rewards than income and working

conditions have become attached to his present job so it would be too painful to

change. Ritzier and Trice, (1975) tested this theory. They tested the hypotheses

concerning the relationship between commitment and various background factors i.e.,

age, marital status, salary etc that they considered indicators of the number of side-

bets. Their findings caused them to reject Becker’s side-bet theory. They suggested

that rather than being a structural phenomenon, organizational and occupational

commitment is a psychological phenomenon based on the subjective meaningfulness

of an occupation and an organization.

2) Prospective Rationality: An Exchange Perspective on Work & Family

Roles

This theory proposed that individuals contribute to an association as long as it

provides resources for them to meet their own needs and values. Commitment to an

activity is a function of the net rewards from the activity, the cost of leaving the

activity and the net rewards available from alternative activities.

To the prospective view, individuals adjust their commitment to paid work

and family solely on the basis of their current assessment of the net costs and benefits

of performance in the two roles and the cost of changing the distribution of their

efforts at home and at work. In contrast to the retrospective view, commitment is not

a process that stabilizes behavior. If commitments and behaviours are stable, it is

only because the balance of net costs and benefits is stable over time. Perceptions of

current and future opportunities are what determine commitment to paid work or

family roles.

3) Non-Cognitive Approach

Taking commitment for granted.

Both retrospective and prospective approaches to work commitment are

cognitive approaches since they emphasize conscious deliberate processing of

information. non-cognitive approaches emphasize the degree to which subjective

orientation and intentions regarding behavior are habitual, rule like or taken for

granted (Pfeffer, 1982).

The theory posits that some social behavior seem to be governed by “scripts”,

sequences of activities triggered by cues in the environment not by rational or

irrational decisions of individuals. Thus, certain family and work activities are

habitual rather than the result of intentions. Research works have shown how acts in

organizations are continued and transmitted without question (Pfeffer, 1982), and

take on role like status in social thought and action (Meyer & Rowan, 1977).

Research on the role of scripts in micro-level actions, theories of affective

basis of social interaction, and studies of institutionalization process all suggest ways

in which identification with and intentions towards work and family become taken

for granted in adult life. Non-cognitive approaches suggest that commitments remain

stable despite changing behaviours, investments, rewards, and costs associated with

activities.

Under this theory we have the social-information processing theory proposed

by (Salencik & Pfeffer, 1987). They divided their model into two parts:-

i) The effects of social context on perception of the work commitment, attitude

and need statements, and the linkage between perceptions and attitudes.

ii) The effects of the individual’s past behaviours on self-perceptions of the

attitudes, which is partly socially mediated.

They agued that for the second part of the model, when an individual is

committed to a behavior, he/she would rationalize past behavior by developing

attitudes consonant with that behavior.

A GENETIC MODEL OF THE PROCESS OF WORK COMMITMENT

A generic model of an individual’s current paid work commitment can be

viewed as a function of current assessments of net rewards from work (Rt); the

attractiveness of alternative activities (At); Current behavior (Bt); prior behavior

(Bp); prior commitments (Cp); and current investments in work activities (ie costs of

reallocating activities (Lt).

Therefore commitment to work = Ct = f (Rt, At, Bt, Bp, Cp, Bp). The generic

model subsumes the mechanisms of the various perspectives. It expresses work

commitment as a function of prior commitment current and prior paid work rewards,

job and family investments and alternatives, family constraints, and employment

experiences.

Empirical evidence is limited on these three models of the commitment

process. Past research on work commitment provides limited insight into the

mechanisms of the commitment process, because it has not been guided by a

comprehensive theoretical approach, (Bielby & Bielby, 1988). However, studies with

the Quinn & Staines, 1979) showed that extrinsic job rewards have little impact on

job involvement, work effort, and job autonomy are the strongest predictors of work

commitment.

In constrast to research showing strong effects of work context on social

psychological attachment to work. Bielby & Bielby, (1984) found out that work

commitment is a stable subjective orientation hat is less influenced by work place

experience than are other subjective attachments. They found that work commitment

among female college graduates remained remarkably stable despite changing family

and work contingencies.

In another study, Lorence, (1985) tried to examine trends of commitment to

work over some years, using the general social survey of intentions regarding

behavior. His findings were consistent with the retrospective view of work

commitment. They found that extrinsic job rewards has no effect on work

commitment rather, commitment is related to age. They then speculated that this

might be due to retrospective commitments made by these women to prior career

behaviours.

EMPIRICAL REVIEW

Predictors and outcomes of work commitment

Given that highly committed employees bring about organizational

effectiveness, it is crucial to identify the antecedents and outcomes of this work

attitude. Applied mostly to the study of organizational commitment, the following

predictors are equally predictors of work commitment.

Organizational Factors

The important of organizational factor in affecting attitudes or behaviours of

employers has been widely advocated (Allen & Meyer 1990; Mathieu & Zagac

(1990).

Organizational variables such as family response benefits has been noted as

being important in determining a woman’s attachment to the work force, (Glass &

Riley, 1998). Recent research has shown that there are several work place policies

and practices (e.g. flexible scheduling) that increase the likelihood that a woman will

return to work after childbirth, (Glass & Riley, 1998; National Council of Jewish

Women, 1988). In one of the first large scale, longitudinal studies of pregnant women

in the work place, over 2,600 working women were interviewed int heir third

trimester of pregnancy, and a smaller group was interviewed again 4-7 months after

childbirth, (National Council of Jewish Women, 1987, 1988). Researchers found that

pregnant women whose employers were accommodative of pregnancy (e.g.,

providing flexibility in scheduling work hours or assisting in finding child care) were

more likely to return to work after childbirth than women with less accommodative

employers.

Glass & Riley, (1988) interviewed 324 pregnant working women at three

points in time. Their findings indicated that several family – responsive policies (e.g.

length of maternity leave, ability to avoid overtime) decreased job attrition following

childbirth. They also found that professionals and managers who were more likely to

have access to family – responsive benefits at work, were also much less likely to

quit their jobs following childbirth. They attributed this finding to the greater work

commitment of professionals and managers, and to the greater commitment of their

employers to providing support that encourages retention of highly valued

employees. Waldfoget’s (1998) longitudinal research in the United States & Great

Britain, provided further evidence of the value of family – responsive benefits. His

findings showed that women whose employers offered job-protected maternity leave

benefits are more likely to return to work than women without these benefits. Other

research has shown that pregnant women with paid maternity leave benefits worked

later into their pregnancies and returned to work sooner after childbirth than pregnant

women without paid leave benefits, (Joesch, 1997). Furthermore, research on married

working women has found that work place support including supervisors supports for

schedule flexibility is strongly related to women’s organizational commitment,

(Greenberger, Goldberg, Hamill, O’Neil & Payne, 1989). Grover & Crooker, (1995)

and Thompson, Beaurvaise & Lyness, (1999) found that employees who worked for

companies that provided family responsive benefits had higher affective commitment

and less intention to leave their jobs than employees without these benefits.

Affective Commitment here refers to an attitude or an orientation toward the

organization, which links or attaches the identity of the person to the organization

(Sheldon, 1971).

In Mathieu and Zajac’s (1990) meta-analytic study, affective commitment has

shown a positive correction with job scope, a composite of three variables; job

challenge degree of autonomy and variety of skills used. Affective commitment to

the organization is stronger among employees whose leaders allow them to

participate in decision-making and those who treat them with consideration (Decotis

& Summer 1987).

On the basis of antecedent research in affective commitment, Meyer & Allen

(1997) suggested possible universal appeal for those work environmental where

employees are supported treated fairly, made to feel that they make contributions.

Such experiences might fulfill a higher order desire to enhance perception of self

worth.

Continuance Commitment: Herbiniak & Aluito (1972) defined it as a

structural at phenomenon, which occurs because of individual – organizational

transactions and alteration in side bets or investments over time.

According to Meyer and Allen (1991) Continuance commitment originates

from the side bets tradition and refers to employee’s sacrifices e.g. losing seniority or

pension benefits associated with terminating employment, thus the employee

becomes aware of the costs that are associated with leaving the organization.

Meyer and Allen (1997) show continuance commitment to be related to

employee’s perception about transferability of their skills to the other organizations.

In essence, the employee’s perception of employment – alternative is one of

the hypothesized antecedents of continuance commitment. The perceived availability

of alternatives will be negatively correlated with continuance commitment (Meyer &

Allen, 1997).

Normative Commitment:- Perceived obligation to pursue a course of action

was identified as a separate dimension of commitment by Meyer and Allen (1991). It

has been established to be distinguishable from the affective and cost-based forms of

commitment.

This form of commitment refers to the employee’s internalization of the

organizational goals and values such that they become committed to the organization

because they believe it is the moral or right thing to do (Allen & Meyer, 1991).

Meyer & Allen (1997) suggests that normative commitment developments on

the basis of a particular kind of investment that the organization makes in the

employee, specifically investments that seems difficult for employees to reciprocate.

Normative commitment might also develop on the basis of “psychological

contract” between an employee’s and the organization. The psychological contract

can take different forms:- Transactional contract, which is based on principles of

social exchange, and Relational contracts, which are more, abstract and based on

principal of social exchange.

Work – Family Culture

Although providing family responsive benefits and policies appear to be good

for both the employer and employee, many employees are reluctant to take advantage

of these policies for fear of damaging their career advancement (Finkel, Olswany &

She, 1994). In a survey of female professors, Finkel et al (1994) found that 77% of

the sample thought that taking a maternity leave would have a negative career

consequence, and only 30% of those who gave birth took the full leave offered by

their universities. In addition, Judiesch and Lyness, (1999) carried out a study of

managers in a financial services organization found that taking a family leave was

negatively associated with subsequent promotions and salary increases. Thus, a

company’s culture can influence employee’s perception or attitudes about their

organization especially if the organizational culture does not support and values the

integration of employee’s work and family lives. Thompson, Beaurvais and Lyness

(1999) identified three distinct dimensions of work – family culture i.e. support for

work – family balance, fewer negative career consequences associated with utilizing

work – family benefits and fewer organizational time demands that interfere with

family responsibility. Their findings indicated that employee’s perception of a

supportive organizational work – family culture were positively related to affective

commitment and negatively related to intentions to leave the organization.

Perceptions of a supportive work – family culture were also found to be significantly

related to these work attitudes above, suggesting that the impact of family –

responsive benefits can be heightened by ensuring that the organizational culture

supports the use of such benefits and policies.

Job Security:- Oliver & Lowe, (1991) discovered that the generous benefits

from an organization, which there is no job – security could affect employees

commitment to their job.

Organizational – reward system/Policy has been identified as one of the

organizational variables that predict commitment. Bluedorn, (1982) found in his

study, that equity of organizational reward system to the reward system of other and

similar organizations and the equity of reward received by an employee with that

received by other employees with similar inputs, successfully predicted commitment.

Dissatisfaction with organizational reward/policy system has consistently led to

lessened commitment. An inverse relationship has been found between commitment

and dissatisfaction and between dissatisfaction with organizational reward and

recognition policy, (Hrebiniak & Alutto, 1972).

Advancement Opportunities: have been associated with employee’s

commitment to work. Those that provide opportunities for personal achievement are

more likely to have highly committed employees, (Brown, 1969), and those that meet

employee’s expectations and are equally dependable. Steers, (1977) and Buchanana,

(1974) found that advancement opportunities provided by the organization have been

found to be a good predictor of commitment. Employees who advance hierarchically

are found to be more committed than those who are highly mobile. Those that are fast

career climbers were most committed although the same pattern of relationship was

not found among moderate and minimum mobile managers, (Oscar, 1966).

Employees that were given more autonomy were found more likely to have higher

commitment. In a similar finding, Steers (1977) also found that the degree of

employees’ participation in decision-making affects commitments.

Interpersonal or Social Relations:- These include both formal and informal

relationships that have been found to be related to employee commitment. Decotisis

& Summers, (1987) Glisson & Durickk, (1988) Luthans, Baack & Taylor and (1987)

Mottaz, (1988) noted that leadership style and leader/subordinate relationship has a

significant relationship has a significant relationship with commitment levels of

employees. Similar findings by Adler & Adler, (1998) indicated that strong leader,

identification of employees with the work group and its leader all contribute to

loyalty in the organization. In the same vein, Steven, Beyer and Trice, (1978) noted

that loyalty is embraced in commitment. In a study carried out by Buchanan, (1974)

it was found that social interaction with both peers and supervisors within the work

place affected commitment. He attributed this to the close relationship between group

attitudes and the degree of identification or attachment with the organization. In

another investigation by Watson, (1994) socializing forces within the organization

were found to affect the employee’s propensity to seek alternative jobs. This means

that the psychological benefits have become side-bets that the employee is unwilling

to forfeit through securing a new job.

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OR PERSONAL FACTORS

Age/Educational Attainment/Aspiration: In a study carried out by Lyness,

Thompson, Francesco & Judiesch, (1999) to find out the effect of human capital

variables on organizational commitment, timing of maternity leave and timing of

return, age was the only variable with a significant relationship to timing of return.

This result indicated that older women planned to return to work sooner after

childbirth than younger women. Other studies carried out have also obtained

consistent results, which showed that increase in age was marked by decreases in

employee’s desire to leave the organization (Lynes et al 1999).

Educational Attainment/Aspiration:- has also been associated with commitment,

though most of the existing research results regarding this relationship have been

inconsistent. The bulk of the research on this relationship, however, suggests that

education is inversely related to organizational commitment, (Steers, 1977; Angle &

Perry, 1981). One common explanation is that more highly educated workers have

greater opportunities for alternative employment than their less educated counterparts

and as a result are less committed to the organization (Angle & Perry, 1981). Another

popular notion is that highly educated workers tend to be less committed to the

organization because they are more committed to their professions or trade, (Steers,

1977; Mowday, 1982). Finally some argue that the more educated workers have

higher expectations, which the organization simply is unable to meet (Steers, 1977;

Mowday, Steers, and Porter 1982). With regard to educational aspiration,

Hrebriniak & Alutto, (1972) found that clerical and telephone operators that have

intention to further their education have lower commitment level.

Length of Service is also one of an employee; personal characteristic associated with

commitment. Ugwu, (1989) found that length of service is related to organizational

commitment. Hall, Schneider & Nygren, (1970) carried out a study using U.S. Forest

service. Findings indicated that identification with organization increased with length

of time spent in the organization.

Need for Achievement has been found to significantly affect employee’s

commitment level, (Morris & Sherman, 1981). In cases where the organization is

able to meet the individual’s need for achievement Dublin, Champoux and Porter,

(1975) indicated from their results after carrying out a study that employees with job-

oriented centralized life interest. (CLI), expressed high organizational commitment

than those with non-job oriented CLI.

Marital Status/Children: For every employee both male and female, work and

family role are related inversely, competing with each other for time and energy. For

the woman it is the family role that is assigned primacy. The consequences are that

women do indeed choose easier jobs, with convenient hours, close to home, not

because they lack initiative. They choose these jobs because the combination of their

social roles is difficult. Gail, (1988) also noted that the limited insulation of female

work roles from family roles result in characteristics patterns of female behavior.

They observed that many female workers stated that when at work they couldn’t put

the house and children out of their mind. This reason accounts for the under

representation of women in enterprise activities requiring additional commitments of

time and energy since most of them value jobs that are less demanding, (Gail, 1988).

Jegede’s (1985) findings, using Nigerian women as samples support the view

that the woman’s multiple role causes role strain which leads to depression for the

employed wives and in turn can affect their work behavior. He attributed this to large

family size, lack of emotional support from the husband, polygamy, and inadequate

supply of services i.e. Water and electricity. Levois and Cooper, (1988) in the same

line suggest that the interaction of work and family roles lead to the employed

mother/wife being quite literally of two minds. This schizoid self-view contributes to

helplessness, manipulability and passivity. This strain and conflict often affects the

woman, her family and also her work.

Roby, (1988) in a study tried to examine the relationship of stewards domestic

living status/situations to gender and union activities, their findings indicated that

women who have partners or children have a lower level of participation in union

activities. In a similar finding, Aranya, Kushmir, & Valency, (1986) analyzed the

organizational commitment of North American male and female accountants working

in a professional organization. The results showed that married women and men with

children tend to have lower levels of organizational commitment than their male and

female peers who are single. In a similar vein, Gwartney – Gibbs, (1988) explored

the quantity and quality of life timework experience associated with different

employment and parental status. Married women in the sample who are childless

experience greater commitment, intensity and duration in their work histories than

women with children. They also found that single female stewards like most male

stewards prioritized union responsibilities over personal or family life. But for the

employed mother, they took special care to keep union responsibility from impinging

upon family life, thus prioritizing family responsibilities over union responsibilities.

Campbell and Campbell (1994) carried out a study on the effects of family

responsibilities on work commitment and job performance of anon-professional

women workers. The results showed that married women with children were

significantly less committed to working or having a career than either unmarried or

married women without children. They concluded that marriage alone has no impact

on a woman’s work commitment or job performance. It is only with the introduction

of children i.e. additional motherhood role, that role expansion appears to influence

work behavior or attitudes.

In a different finding, Aranya & Jacobson, (1975) tried to examine the theories

of organizational and occupational commitment by Becker, (1960) and by Ritzier &

Trice, (1969). Their results showed that marital status and children are positively

related to work commitment. They explained these findings on the basis that one’s

responsibilities make on less willing to loose her investments in the employing

organization. Boulton (1993) carried out a study on professional women. His findings

indicated that women’s commitment to mother hood mostly did not diminish their

commitment to future employment. Having a child, they explained proved to be a

‘turning point’ in that it spurred some women into being more committed to work in

order to make provisions for their children. In a similar line, Forgarty, Rapport &

Rapport, (1971) using intention to work in the future as an indicator of work

commitment found that women without children showed less commitment to work

than those with children. For them, the best explanation seems to be that of the

traditional dream. Most married women without children tried to idealize

motherhood and have the tendency to drop out in greater proportions than those who

have actually experienced this status transition. Roby & Uttal, (1988) in examining

how union members adjust family life to union needs reported that most female

union members do not feel that family life roles intrude into their work place. The

reason they gave was that their partners and children support them fully in their union

work and help in handling domestic responsibilities. Commenting on the reciprocal

influences of work and family life, Frone, Rusell & Coper, (1994) concluded that

most employees are better managing the effect of family demands on work than the

influence of work on family life. Confirming this conclusion, only 10% of employed

men and women in the Institute’s Australian Family Life Course study believed that

home life interfered with work.

Age/Number of Children:- has also been found to be related to a woman’s

work commitment level. Gilezer & Wolocott, (1999) in studying the reciprocal effect

of work and family life, found that age of the youngest child had little impact on the

degree to which family life interfered with the mothers’ work, only 10% of women

said that home life interfered with work. Campbell, Campbell and Kennard (1994)

analyzed the relationship between the age of the youngest child at home and work

commitment of the mother. Results showed that women who had one or more

children aged five or below are less committed than others with older children aged

six and above. Similar findings were reported by Holohan & Gilbert, (1979) Snd

Lewis, (1986) in their study of the relationship between the number and age of

children on maternal employment. Their findings indicated that the pressures of work

and family conflict are especially salient for parents of preschool children. Number

of children equally affects a woman’s commitment to paid work. Sekaran (1985)

found a positive relationship between number of children and mental health for

wives, which she speculated may be due to emotional and practical support given to

mothers by older children.

Sex of an Employee: has also been found to be a predictor of organizational

commitment. Oscar (1966) found that female managers were more strongly

committed than male managers. They identified with the organization and were also

generally satisfied. In a different finding, Lorence (1985) in his analysis of a series of

cross-sectional surveys found no significant difference in the level of work

commitment among men and women. Angle & Perry’s (1983) findings support that

of Oscar, (1966). They found that females were more strongly committed to the

organization than their male counterparts. They explained this by suggesting that the

traditional role of women may have predisposed them to being more easily satisfied

even in cases of low organizational attractiveness.

Self-Efficacy

Bandura (1978) defined self-efficacy as “a judgement of one’s ability to

execute a particular behavioural pattern. It is an important component of Bandura’s

(1986) more general social cognitive theory, which suggests that an individual’s

behavior, environment, and cognitive factors are all highly interrelated. Wood &

Bandura (1989) suggested that self-efficacy beliefs form a central role in the

regulatory process through which an individual’s motivation and performance

attainments are governed. Self-efficacy judgements also determine how much effort

people will spend on a task and how long they will persist with it. People with strong

self-efficacy beliefs have been found to exert greater efforts to master a challenge

while those with weak self-efficacy beliefs are likely to reduce their efforts or even

quit (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). In the same vein, Gardner & Pierce (1998) found

that self-efficacy was positively related to organizational commitment.

Work locus of control

First conceptualized in Porter’s social learning theory, work locus of control

has become an important organizational research variable. Spector (1988) defined

work locus of control as generalized expectancy that rewards, reinforcements or

outcomes in life that are controlled either by one’s own actions (internality) or by

other forces (externality). Coleman, Irving & Cooper (1999) found that locus of

control is associated with affective commitment and external locus of control was

associated with continuance commitment. Participants with high levels of internal

locus of control reported higher levels of affective commitment, in contrast to

research participants identified as externals and (high levels of external locus of

control) reported high levels of continuance commitment. Further, Coleman, Irving

& Cooper (1999) found significant correlations between work locus of control and

affective and continuance commitment. Spector (1988) also found that internals were

more satisfied with their jobs than externals.

Mathieu & Zagac (1990) noted that perceived competence and affective

commitment has the strongest link. Employees who have strong confidence in their

abilities and achievement have higher affective commitment. A possible explanation

for the observed relation between the two variables is that competent people are able

to choose higher quality organizations, which in turn inspire affective commitment.

Work Experiences: According to Meyer & Allen (1997), work experience

variables have the strongest and most consistent correlation with affective

commitment in most studies.

In Mathieu & Zagac’s (1990) meta-analytic study, affective commitment has

shown a positive correlation with job scope, a composite of three variables; job

challenge, degree of autonomy and variety of skills used.

Consequences of normative commitment: Strong normative commitment is

tied to the organization by feelings of obligation and duty. Meyer and Allen (1991)

argued that, generally, such feelings would motivate individuals to behave

appropriately and do what is right for the organization. Normative commitment is

expected to be positively related to such work behaviours as job performance, work

attendance and organizational citizenship.

Out come of Continuance Commitment: Employees whose primary link to

the organization is based on strong continuance commitment, stay with the

organization not for reasons’ of emotional commitment, but because of a recognition

that the costs associated with doing otherwise are simply too high. All things being

equal, there is no reason to expect that such employees will have a particular strong

desire to contribute to the organization (Meyer and Allen, 1997).

Job Characteristics

Beilby & Bielby (1988) and Lorence, (1985) found that job autonomy is the

strongest predictor of extrinsic job rewards related to work commitment. Buchanan,

(1974) also noted that successful accomplishment of job task contributes to high

levels of commitment as well as also having skilled subordinates (Stevens, Meyer &

Trice 1978). Getting adequate feedback on performance on the job and also finding

the job itself challenging also contributes to high level of work commitment. Work

overload has an inverse relationship with work commitment as well as job designs,

(Steers 1977).

The effect of job characteristics confirms Herzberg (1966) theory – that the

job itself does affect the worker psychologically, which in turn affects employee

productivity.

Environmental Factors

It is a well-known fact that our environment shapes our behavior and attitude.

As Harvey, (1992) noted, attitude is 10% determined by outside forces and 90%

determined by our own minds. Commitment therefore could be influenced by the

larger and outer environmental variables such as culture. Uzokwulu (1999) in

analyzing some factors that inhibit high participation of Nigerian women in politics

stated that it is not as if they refused to take necessary challenges in politics. The

reason is that most women are often victims of male domineering attitude. She

suggested that the sum total constraint on women is cultural. Most Nigerian women

even highly educated ones still believe in total submission to their husband’s

domination. This directly affects their willingness to take personal decisions. Lewis

& Cooper, (1988) noted that sex-role attitude may be the key individual attitudinal

variable. As Glass & Riley, (1988) noted, traditional attitude towards parenting

influences a pregnant woman’s intention to work in the future after childbirth. They

found that women who have less traditional attitudes towards parental or gender role

plan to return to work quickly than those with more traditional attitude towards

parental or gender roles.

Outcomes of Employee Commitment

The most important clue to the value of commitment is found by reviewing

it’s outcomes. These outcomes can either be negative or positive. Negative outcomes

for the individual have been proposed by Randall (1987) such as being left out during

promotion or development opportunities, being dismissed or harassed. For the work

firm, the consequences include high labour turnover, high absenteeism, poor

performance and sabotage. Goss, (1996) noted that highly committed employees are

more likely to commit illegal or unethical behavior on behalf of the organization, that

even where conflict arises, they would likely put corporate dictates above their own

personal ethics or societal dictates. This means that positive relationship does not

always occur with being over-committed and could bring about conflict.

Job Performance: Weiner & Vardi, (1980) found that work effort is related

to job commitment. Whereas performance effectiveness is related to organizational

commitment, high levels of commitment were related to higher job performance as

indicated in a study carried out by Levin (1988). He surveyed 26 retail shops and

found that both commitment and satisfaction showed high and significant co-relation

with self-rated performance across the shops. In another study, Angle & Perry,

(1981) found no significant correlation between commitment and two indicators of

organizational effectiveness, which include high participation rate and productivity.

In a similar finding, Chen, Tsui & Fash, (2002) found a significant relationship

between organizational commitment and job performance. In explaining the weak co-

relation between commitment and performance, Levin (1977) noted that some

variables such as work – procedures were responsible for the difficulty in the

discernment of the actual effect of commitment on performance. Cumming &

Schwab, (1973) supported the above view. They suggested that job performance was

a function of several complex conditions, current, past and future therefore a

complete understanding of all the determinants of job performance was ‘virtually’

impossible.

Absenteeism

This has been defined as any failure to report for work or remain out of work

as scheduled, regardless of reason. This excludes; vacation, injury duty leave or

personal leave. Findings by Steers (1977) indicated that commitment is associated

with work attendance. Angle & Perry, (1981) found no significant relationship

between commitment and absenteeism. They attributed this to the demands of the

profession and job schedule.

Turnover

This has a significant implication for any organization and it is expected that

the organization will seek ways to reduce the operating costs by bringing turnover

rate to the barest minimum. Porter, Steers, Mowday & Boulian (1974) found in a

longitudinal study of psychiatric trainees that attitudes held by an individual was

predictive of their subsequent turnover behviour. High levels of commitment were

related to lower turnover. Steers (1977) carried out a study using scientists, engineers

and hospital employees as sample, and found that commitment was related to the

desire and intent to remain in the organization. In a similar finding, Koslowsky

(1991) investigated the relationship between commitment and turnover. He found

that attitudes influences intention to leave a job and commitment appeared to be an

antecedent of job satisfaction, which in turn preceded intention to leave a job.

Williams & Hazer, (1986) in a similar vein, found no significant relationship between

commitment and satisfaction but their findings indicate that both are intervening

variables in the modes of turnover. Ajzen & Fish-bein, (1984) demonstrated

empirically that commitment does affect turnover through ‘intention to leave’ as an

indicator of commitment.

CONCLUSION

From the above reviews, it can be concluded that commitment could be

considered multidimensional in both form that is (affective, continuance and

normative) and focus, i.e. (organization, career, union, work).

It can also be concluded that commitment to his/her organization, work place

or any other entity can be influenced by different variables such as demographic e.g.

(age, gender age and no of children marital status, organizational tenure),

dispositional variables (e.g. Personality, values) and organizational factors e.g. (work

family culture that exhibits within the organization, benefits attached to the

organization, interpersonal; and social relations).

The hypothesis for this research work was based mainly on the demographic

variables that affect one’s commitment to work.

Organization should therefore develop strategies to encourage commitment

Manager should rely less on formal rules and more on building a committed

workforce to attain organizational objective.

HYPOTHESES

(1) Increase in family roles would not significantly affect work commitment of

women.

(2) Age of the youngest child would not significantly affect a mother’s

commitment to work.

(3) The number of children a woman has would not significantly affect her

commitment to work.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Participants

A sample of 200 women employees in financial institutions participated in the

study. This comprised of one hundred and twenty (120) unmarried women, and

eighty (80) married women. Among the married women, thirty-eight (38) have

children, while forty-two (42) are without children. All participants are degree

holders, with a minimum of two years working experience in their current employing

organizations.

Participants were drawn using stratified random sampling from the following

banks.

1. Onitsha and Nnewi branches of Union Bank of Nigeria PLC (UBA) = 20

participants.

2. Onitsha and Nnewi branches of First Bank of Nigeria PLC = 20 participants.

3. Onitsha and Nnewi branches of Diamond Bank PLC = 15 participants.

4. Onitsha and Nnewi branches of City Express Bank of Nigeria PLC = 10

participants.

5. Standard Trust Bank (STB), Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 15 Participants.

6. United Bank for Africa (UBA), Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 20

Participants.

7. Citizens Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

8. Onitsha and Nnewi branches of Intercontinental Bank PLC = 10 participants.

9. Zenith Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

10. Broad Bank PLC, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

11. Metropolitan Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

12. Gulf Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

13. Oceanic Bank Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

14. Guardian Express Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

15. Universal Trust Bank (UTB), Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

16. Continental Trust Bank, Nnewi and Onitsha branches = 10 Participants.

Instruments

Two kinds of information relevant to the study’s focus were collected.

1) Family Demographic Data and

2) Attitudinal orientation to work.

Each type of information is more fully described below.

1. Family Demographic Data: the first section of the research questionnaire

contained information relevant to the person and her family background.

These include such items as marital status, number of children, and ages of

children.

2. Attitudinal Orientation to Work: The instrument that was used in obtaining an

individual’s work attitude was the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire

(OCQ) developed by (Mowday, Steers & Porter, 1979).

The OCQ was designed to measure the degree to which employees feel

committed to their employing organization. It is based on a series of studies among

2563 employees in nine divergent organizations and has satisfactory psychometric

properties. The instrument has been validated in Nigeria by Ugwu, (1989). The

statistical analysis of the pilot study he carried out using Palm Beach Insurance

Company Limited Enugu, yielded a split-half reliability co-efficient of 0.45 and a

Spearman – Brown split-half reliability co-efficient of 0.62. Further statistical

analyses of the pilot study responses yielded internal consistency reliability co-

efficient of 0.75.

Response Pattern

The response pattern that was employed is the 5-point Likert scale type with

the following anchors: Strongly Agree, Agree, undecided, Disagree and Strongly

Disagree.

Scoring

For the purpose of quantitative analyses, the items were scored as follows: For

questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14 the scorings were “Strongly Agree” (5),

“Agree” (4) “Undecided” (3), “disagree” (2), “strongly Disagree” (1).

Several items, which include 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15 were scored in reverse order in

an effort to reduce response basis.

Procedure

Two hundred (200) copies of the OCQ were administered to the participants

individually in their offices. This was done by the researcher herself with the help of

some staff in the various Banks. Before administration of the OCQ, the researcher

introduced her to the respondents and informed them of the purpose of the study.

Design/Statistics

The study was a survey design and the statistical method that was used in

analyzing the data was chi-square (X2).

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

Hypothesis I (H0: I) the null hypothesis states that increase in family roles

would not significantly affect work commitment of women.

Result from the analysis indicated that the table value 5.991 (p<0.05) is

greater than the calculated value 4.968, therefore, the null hypothesis is accepted; this

is shown in the table below.

THE EFFECT OF FAMILY ROLES ON WORK COMMITMENT

Family Level of Commitment

High Low Total Unmarried High

(83.4) 80

Low (36.6) 40

Total 120

Married without children (29.19) 35

(12.81) 7

42

Married with children (26.41) 24

(11.59) 14

38

Total 139 200

Obtained value = 4.967

Table value = 5.991<0.3

df = 2

Hypothesis 2 (H0:2), which states that the age of the youngest child would not

significantly affect a mother’s commitment to work, is accepted since the table value

3.841 is greater than the calculated value 1.2.

The result is presented in the table below

THE EFFECTS OF AGE OF CHILDREN ON WORK COMMITMENT

Age of Children Level of Commitment

High Low Total

Younger children (0-5 years) (12.63) 11

(7.37) 9

20

Older children (6-above) (11.37) 13

(6.63) 5

18

Total 24 14 38

Obtained value X2 = 1.2

Table value = 3.841

df = 1

Hypothesis 3 (H0:3)

The hypothesis states that the number of children a woman has would not

significantly affect her commitment to work. After the analysis the result showed that

the table value 3.841<0.05) is greater than the calculated value 3.138, therefore the

null hypothesis is accepted. Below is a 2x2 Contingency table showing the number of

children and its influence on work commitment.

The effect of number of children on work commitment

Number of Children Level of Commitment

High Low Total

1-3 (12.63) 10

(7.37) 10

20

4-above (11.37) 14

(6.63) 4

18

Total 24 14 38

Obtained value X2 = 3.138

Table value = 3.841

df = 1

summary of main findings

1. Increase in family roles did not significantly lead to decrease in work

commitment, (P>.05).

2. Age of the youngest child did not influence a woman’s commitment to work

(P>.05).

3. The number of children a woman has did not significantly influence her

commitment to work, (P>.05).

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION

The result (X2 = 4.968, P<.05) from the analysis indicated that increase in

family roles does not significantly reduce work commitment. Therefore H0.1 was

supported. However, follow-up examination of the relevant mean of each group

indicated that single women (M = 52.9) were less committed to work than either

married women without children (M = 55.2), or married women with children (M =

54.1) this is an unanticipated finding.

In this regard, the findings are consistent with conclusions drawn by other

investigators (Aranya & Jacobson, 1975) in trying to examine the organizational and

occupational commitment theory by Becker, (1960) and by Ritzer & Trice, (1969),

found out that marital status and children are positively related to work commitment.

These findings were explained on the basis that one’s responsibilities make one less

willing to loose her investments in the employing organizations.

Result from Bolton, (1993) research on professional women also indicated

that women’s commitment to motherhood mostly did not diminish their commitment

to work. Having a child spurred some women into being more committed to work in

order to make provisions for their children.

In the same vein, Campbell & Campbell, (1984) result on the effect of role

expansion on work commitment and job performance among women workers

indicated no significant decrease in occupational commitment among unmarried

women, married women without children and married women with children.

To test the second hypothesis (HO:2) mothers (N = 38) in the sample were

coded into two groups those who had one or more children aged five or below (N =

20), and those whose children were six or or older (N = 18).

The underlying rationale behind this hypothesis is that demands of parenting

are compelling and most often take priority over other obligations. Thus, women

actively engaged in mothering young children were expected to find role expansion

effects to be strongest amongst them.

After the analysis, the result (X2 = 1.2 P<.05) proved the above argument

wrong. Therefore (H0:2) which states that age of the youngest child will have no

significant influence on a mother’s commitment to work was accepted. Further

analysis of the mean of each group revealed that women with younger children (M =

53.1) were less committed than women with older children (M = 56.6). But the

different is not statistically significant.

Gilezer & Wolocoltt, (1999) findings supported the present result. Their result

showed that age of the youngest child had little impact on the degree to which family

life interfered with the mother’s work.

For the purpose of testing (H0:3), mothers were coded into two relevant

groups. Those with less number of children, 1-3 (N = 20); and those with children,

4-above (N = 18).

Result (X2 = 3.138, P<.05) from the analysis supported H0:3 of no significant

influence between number of children and a mother’s commitment to work. Further

analysis indicated that women under group 4 and above (M = 57.05) had a higher

mean than women under group 1-3 (M = 53.2) indicating higher commitment

towards work, though the difference was not significant.

This result is in line with findings from Campbell & Campbell, (1984)

research work, which revealed no significant relationship between number of

children a woman has and her work commitment or job performance. In the same

vein, Bryson, Bryson & Johnson, (1978) in their research of dual career couples also

failed to find an association between the two variables. Thus, inspite of its intuitive

appeal, the mere number of children in a family seems unreliable as predictor of a

married woman’s commitment to work.

IMPLICATION OF STUDY

Overall deductions made from this study imply that family responsibilities do

not significantly affect a woman’s commitment to work.

For the employer, the knowledge that being married or having children does

not influence one’s commitment to work should change the expectations most of

them hold about how committed these group of women will be if employed. This

implies that employers need to pay more attention to applicant’s personal

dispositions and not the family roles she is engaged with.

For the benefit of organizations, the result from this study implies that a

woman’s level of commitment should not be attributed to her family roles but to

other factors that might inhibit her being committed to work. Such factors to be

considered are; organizational factors (i.e. work place policies and practices e.g.

flexible scheduling), work-family culture, organizational reward – system etc). Also

it is important to consider personal variables such as age as possible factors that

might affect one’s level of work commitment.

Limitations of the Study

One of the limitations of the study is that of sample composition and job type.

The investigation examined only professional women, employed in different

financial industries situated only in Nnewi and Onitsha. Each of these factors

obviously represents a boundary condition potentially limiting generalizability.

Also extraneous variables, which may have influenced the result, may not

have been adequately controlled by the use of survey method.

Furthermore, sample limitation also deserves mentioning. The study only

examined role expansion effects among women who continued working. Women for

whom role expansion (e.g. motherhood) was particularly disruptive may have

previously withdrawn from paid employment. Longitudinal research is needed to

clarify this possibility.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

In view of the several limitations recorded in the study, the researcher

suggests areas for future research.

1) Emphasis should be placed on the evolutionary nature of the family – work

relationship. The relationship appears to be dynamic, changing as a woman’s

children grow.

2) Should organizations expect changes as a woman’s preschool children grow.

As these children grow, will they imply changes in what the person desires or

expects from the firm.

3) Carrying out a similar study using other variables such as organizational

factors and personal variables (i.e. age, gender and tenure) as predictors of

work commitment.

4) Carrying out research work on family roles and its effect on work behavior i.e.

job performance.

5) Additional research should focus on the male partner in a parenting couple,

and examine the ‘fathering’ effects.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The study investigated the effect of family responsibilities on work

commitement of professional women workers.

A total of 200 women (single, N = 120; married, N = 80) working in 16

different financial institutions located at Onitsha and Nnewi in Anambra State were

used in the study. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed

by Mowday et al (1979) was used in the collection of data X2 statistics was used for

data analysis.

Three hypotheses were postulated and tested by the researcher. The result

were as follows:

§ Increase in family roles did not significantly lead to decrease in work

commitment.

§ Age of the youngest child did not have any significant influence on work

commitment.

§ The number of children a woman has is not a viable predictor of her

commitment to work.

From the results, all the three null hypotheses were accepted. Therefore, it was

concluded that family responsibility has no effect on a woman’s work commitment.

Since mothers of young children were less committed than those with older children,

though the difference is not significant, organizational policies that reduce potential

time conflicts apparently are moving in the right direction. Decreased commitment to

work might actually be a psychological phenomenon based on the subjective

meaningfulness of an occupation or an organization.

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APPENDIX I QUESTIONNAIRE

Department of Psychology University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Dear Madam, Please sincerely reply to each of the items below. YOU DON’T NEED TO

DISCLOSE YOUR NAME.

The purpose of the questionnaire is to help the researcher in carrying out her

research project.

Thank you for your maximum co-operation.

Yours sincerely,

Okereke Ngozi C.

SECTION A: PERSONAL/FAMILY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA: Please tick (√)

where appropriate.

1) MARITAL STATUS: Single, Married, Widowed,

Divorced

2) NUMBER OF CHILDREN: None 1-3 4-6 7-above

3) AGES OF CHILDREN: 0-5 6-11, 12 – 17, 18-above

SECTION B:

INSTRUCTION

Listed below are a series of statements that represent possible feelings that

individuals might have about the company or organization for which they work. With

respect to your own feelings about the particular organization for which you are now

working, please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each

statement.

S/NO Statement Strongly Agree

Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree

1. I am willing to put in

a great deal of effort

beyond that normally

expected in order to

help this organization

to be successful.

2. I talk about this

organization to my

friends as a great

organization to work

for.

3. I feel very little loyalty

to this organization

4. I would accept almost

any type of job

assignment in order to

keep working for this

organization

5. I find that my value and

the organization’s values

are very similar

6. I am proud to tell others

that I am part of this

organization

7. I could just as well be

working for a different

organization as long as

the type of work was

similar

8. This organization really

inspires the very best in

me in the way of job

performance.

9. It would take little

change in my present

circumstances to cause

me to leave this

organization

10. I am extremely glad that

I choose this

organization to work for

over others I was

considering at the time I

joined.

11. There is not too much to

be gained by sticking

with this organization

indefinitely.

12. Often, I find it different

to agree with this

organization’s policy on

important matters

relating to its

employees.

13. I really care about the

fate of the organization.

14. For me, this is the best

of all possible

organization for which

to work.

15. Deciding to work for

this organization was a

definite mistake on my

part.

APPENDIX II

ANALYSIS OF SCORE ON INCREASE IN FAMILY ROLES AND WORK

COMMITMENT USING CHI SQUARE (X2)

O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2

80 83.4 -3.4 11.56 0.139

40 36.6 3.4 11.56 0.316

35 29.19 5.81 33.76 1.157

7 12.81 -5.81 33.76 2.635

24 26.41 -2.41 5.81 0.220

14 11.59 2.41 5.81 0.501

X2 = 4.968

Df = (R-D(C-1) – (3-1(2.1) = 2

C = 5.991

Level of significance = .05

APPENDIX III

ANALYSIS OF SCORES ON AGE OF CHILDREN AND WORK

COMMITMENT USING CHI SQUARE (X2)

O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2

11 12.63 -1.63 2.657 0.210

9 7.37 1.63 2.657 0.361

13 11.37 1.63 2.657 0.234

5 6.63 -1.63 2.657 0.401

X2 = 1.206

Df = (R-1)(C-1) = (2-10(2-1) = 1

C = 3.841

Level of significance = .05

APPENDIX IV

ANALYSIS OF SCORES ON AGE OF CHILDREN AND WORK

COMMITMENT

O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2

10 12.63 -2.63 6.917 0.548

10 7.37 3.63 6.917 0.959

14 11.37 2.63 6.917 0.608

4 6.63 -2.63 6.917 1.043

X2 = 3.138

df = (R-1)(C-1) = (2-1)(2-1) = 1

C = 3.841

Level of significance = .05