Part-and full-time employment and the three component model of organisational commitment

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between part- and full-time employment status and the three component model of organisational commitment within a University setting. The questions addressed include whether part- and full-time staff differ in terms of the types of commitment they report, and whether the components of commitment develop on the basis of similar antecedents for these employee groups. Sixty-four full-time staff and 61 part-time staff responded to a self-report questionnaire. A MANCOV A, controlling for age and organisational tenure, revealed that part- and full-time staff did not report differences on any type of commitment to the organisation. Regression analyses indicated that work characteristics were more important in the development of affective commitment for part-time staff than for fulltime staff. Analyses failed to support the hypothesis that work characteristics and justice perceptions mediated the relationship between employment status and commitment. A major limitation of this study concerns the characteristics of part-time respondents (i. e, retention vs secondary; Tilley, 1 992). Directions for future research include examination of whether different types of part-time employees report differences in the three component model of commitment when compared to full-time staff. There have been considerable changes in the structure of the Australian workplace over the last two decades. The proportion of part-time staff has increased rapidly, and there has been an accompanying decrease in the proportion of full-time staff. Part-time employees are defined as employees who work less than 35 hours per week, while full-time employees refer to employees who work 3 5 hours a week or more (Labour Force Survey, 1 997-98). Recent statistics indicate that the largest group of part-time workers in Australia is casual employees who do not receive sick leave or holiday benefits. However, at the current time we know very little about part-time employees and the consequences of such arrangements for staff and their employing organisation. The most well understood aspect of part-time employment concerns the demographics of this group. Part-time staff tend to be younger or older than full-time employees and are primarily women (Feldman, 1 990; Labour Force Survey, 1 997-98). Research examining the job attitudes of part-time employees has concentrated on contrasting the job satisfaction of part-time staff with that reported by full-time staff Despite this, studies have failed to provide a consistent picture of whether partand full-time staff report differences in job satisfaction. Recently, a number of studies have begun to examine organisational commitment. This is an important development as commitment has been linked with vital organisational outcomes such as turnover, absenteeism, organisational citizenship behaviour and individual well-being………………………