Programme knowledge and value of work-family practices and organizational commitment

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the relationship between the programme knowledge and value of work-family practices and organizational commitment. Employee programme knowledge of work-family policies was significantly related to affective commitment. This finding suggests that organizations should pay attention to how much their employees know about work-family benefits and how practices can be accessed. While the value of paid parental leave was positively related to normative commitment, the perceived value of childcare policy was negatively associated with both affective and normative commitment. These findings suggest that organizations must be aware that how employees perceive work-family practices can influence their commitment towards the organization. Specifically, practices that are viewed as having minimal value might actually lead to a reduction in commitment. Keywords: Work-family practicesorganizational commitmentprogramme knowledgesocial exchange theory Acknowledgements An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Southern Management Association conference in Atlanta 2002. The authors want to acknowledge the constructive feedback from the anonymous reviewers as well as the participants in the presentation session.