Employee organizational commitment in the Australian public sector

Abstract

This study provides an insight into the association between specific cultural, organizational and demographic factors with the level of employee organizational commitment (EOC) from a sample of 500 Australian public sector organizations. The level of EOC is found to vary across management levels, while different cultural and organizational factors were associated with the EOC of managers at different levels in the organizational hierarchy. While there was no difference in the level of EOC to that reported in the private sector, there were specific factors found to be associated with EOC which are unique to the public sector. Such findings indicate that future researchers examining the association between organizational and cultural factors with EOC must consider the sector in which the organization operates. In addition, given the importance of EOC in improving organizational performance, the findings provide guidance to the management of Australian public sector organizations in how to enhance their employees' level of EOC.