Work autonomy is understood as the freedom of workers to manage the different aspects that involve carrying out their own tasks, such as scheduling, criteria, and work methods. In this sense, the objective of this study was to adapt and seek validity evidence of the Work Autonomy Scale in the Brazilian context. A total of 718 Brazilian workers participated, with ages ranging from 18 to 74 years. Confirmatory factor analysis evidenced that the structure that best fits the data was the second-order one. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis attested invariance in the groups divided according to whether or not they occupy a supervisory position, and according to the response format (online or paper and pencil). Internal consistency indices were adequate. Finally, work autonomy showed positive correlations with job satisfaction and with affective organizational commitment. It is concluded that the scale meets psychometric criteria and is shown to be a useful instrument applicable in organizational analysis processes aimed at building more autonomous and productive work environments.

ABSTRACT Many prison organizations face staff shortages and struggle to recruit and retain sufficient personnel. Their workers are confronted with high work pressure and mental strain. Affective organizational commitment of prison staff could help improve employee retainment, performance, and psychological strain. However, affective commitment and its outcomes have been scarcely studied in a prison context, and existing research is limited in its scope, samples, and measurements. Moreover, prison research has not considered the relevance of including multiple foci and studying profiles to enhance the prediction of outcomes. This study measured affective commitment to the prison work team, facility, and agency, and explored the existence of affective commitment profiles and their links to work attitudes and behaviors among a large and nationwide sample of Dutch prison workers (N = 2.667). A latent profile analysis identified three profiles: workers with low, high, and moderate affective commitment. Results from a multivariate analysis of variance showed that the profiles significantly differed across work attitudes and behaviors. Prison workers with high commitment to multiple organizational foci generate the best outcomes. Recommendations for future research include replicating the study in other countries, incorporating additional foci, and examining links between affective commitment and prison climate perceptions.

Organizational effectiveness depends on employee attitudes and behavior. This study aims to examine the influence of transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on organizational performance and to investigate the mediating effect of organizational citizenship behavior in these relationships. Using a quantitative approach, data from 67 civil servants at the Class I TPI Samarinda Immigration Office were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to assess direct and indirect relationships among key variables. The results indicate that transformational leadership and job satisfaction have a significant direct effect on organizational performance, whereas organizational commitment does not demonstrate a direct influence. Instead, job satisfaction and organizational commitment affect performance indirectly through organizational citizenship behavior. The findings show that transformational leadership and job satisfaction have a direct, significant effect on organizational performance, whereas organizational commitment does not. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment significantly promote OCB, but transformational leadership does not. OCB itself is a significant determinant of organizational performance and effectively mediates the relationships of job satisfaction and organizational commitment with performance, but not the relationship involving transformational leadership. These results emphasize the importance of enhancing employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment to foster discretionary behaviors that improve organizational performance.

This study aims to examine the effects of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional) on affective organizational commitment in police organizations, and to empirically analyze the moderating role of ambidextrous leadership in these relationships. A survey was administered to 494 police officers from the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency and its affiliated stations, and hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis. The findings are as follows. First, distributive justice consistently showed a significant positive(+) effect on affective organizational commitment across all models, whereas procedural justice was not statistically significant. Interactional justice demonstrated a significant effect prior to the introduction of the moderating variable, but its effect diminished after ambidextrous leadership was included in the model. Second, ambidextrous leadership exhibited a strong positive(+) main effect on affective organizational commitment. Third, the interaction term of interactional justice × ambidextrous leadership showed a significant negative(−) moderating effect (β = −.244, p < .01), confirming a conditional mechanism whereby higher levels of ambidextrous leadership lead to a reduction in the effect of interactional justice on affective organizational commitment. Johnson-Neyman analysis revealed that the effect of interactional justice became statistically non-significant when leadership values exceeded the critical threshold of 12.48. Based on these findings, the study presents policy implications, including the reinforcement of distributive justice in police personnel systems, the introduction of participatory decision-making structures, and the restructuring of leadership development programs for police officers centered on ambidextrous leadership competencies.

This study investigates the impact of High-Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) on public employees’ organizational affective commitment and turnover intentions, focusing on the mediating role of HR attributions. Drawing on the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) framework and attribution theory, the research adopts a mixed-method design combining Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Based on data collected from a mid-sized Swiss municipality, the findings reveal that HPWPs foster employee loyalty both directly and indirectly, especially when these practices are perceived as supporting employee well-being and aligned with public service values. The study contributes to the strategic HRM literature by validating the relevance of core theoretical frameworks in a public administration context and demonstrating the added value of a configurational perspective. It also provides actionable insights for HR professionals seeking to design integrated HRM systems that enhance commitment and reduce turnover in the public sector.

Purpose This study aims to test the effects of seven entrepreneurial marketing (EM) dimensions on perceived financial performance in Ghanaian SMEs and evaluates affective organizational commitment (AOC) as a mediator that may amplify or dampen these effects. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was administered to 302 SME managers in Accra, Ghana. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling tested the direct effects of each EM dimension on performance and the indirect effects through affective commitment. Findings Opportunity focus, resource leveraging, customer intensity and innovativeness show positive direct effects on SME performance. Affective organizational commitment has a negative path to performance, which creates competitive mediation. Calculated risk-taking improves performance through commitment, while proactiveness, innovativeness, resource leveraging and value creation exhibit negative indirect effects via commitment. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design allows associations, not causality. The evidence comes from Ghanaian SMEs, so findings may not generalize to economies with different ecosystems. Practical implications Because affective commitment relates negatively to performance, SMEs should track commitment and workload, adjust pace and support and pair calculated risk-taking with risk-sharing to keep commitment sustainable. Originality/value The authors provide novel evidence that affective organizational commitment can transmit some entrepreneurial marketing effects negatively, rather than positively, which questions the view that commitment uniformly enhances performance.

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telework, making hybrid work a standard practice in many organizations. Whilst pre-pandemic research primarily focused on telework intensity (TI), recent shifts require a more nuanced approach, considering both TI and flexibility. Telework flexibility (TF), defined as the autonomy to choose telework frequency, schedule and workdays, remains underexplored despite its potential impact on organizational commitment and leader-member exchange. The aim to examine how two key dimensions of telework – flexibility and intensity – affect employees’ affective organizational commitment (AOC) and leader-member exchange (LMX). It also explores the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in these relations. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 578 teleworkers in Belgium. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that TF is positively related to AOC and LMX through POS. Employees with greater TF perceive higher organizational support, which in turn enhances AOC and LMX. Conversely, TI had a significant negative direct effect on AOC and no significant relation with LMX, nor indirect effects through POS. Research limitations/implications Future studies should further investigate, in a longitudinal design, how teleworking has been formalized and gather specific information about telework policies to assess how different policies can affect the attitudes of workers toward the organization and the leader. Practical implications This study has several implications for practice. Their results regarding TI seem to illustrate the shift that has been generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking and TI more specifically, could lead to being left “out of mind,” with workers being at risk of missing out on organizational resources, exposed to the mistrust of their leader and to more challenging interactions (Sewell and Taskin, 2015; Vayre and Pignault, 2014). Now that teleworking has become more of a routine than a perk (Bolívar-Cruz et al., 2024), workers may be more mindful of how telework is implemented rather than of the mere fact of teleworking, as attest the relationships of TF with AOC and LMX through POS in their study. Thus, organizations and managers should tend to develop telework policies that provide sufficient flexibility to workers in their implementation of telework, as telework is becoming an important factor in job attractiveness (Moens et al., 2024). Moreover, developing adequate telework policies will be key in user branding, not only to attract candidates but also to retain current employees (Junça Silva and Dias, 2023). Indeed, while telework theoretically gives more time and place flexibility than working from the office (Schulze et al., 2024), its benefits can only be enjoyed by workers when the organizational policies give them sufficient autonomy on how they may implement telework and when they may telework (Aksnes et al., 2023). Social implications This research would contribute to workers’ development of an emotional attachment to their organization, as well as to high-quality exchange relationships with their leader. Nonetheless, high-intensity telework should be considered with caution regarding the development of the sense of belonging to the organization. Originality/value These findings highlight the importance of organizational policies that enhance TF to strengthen and improve organizational ties. Telework could then be considered a resource when it is implemented flexibly. However, high TI should be considered with caution regarding the development of the sense of belonging to the organization.

Leadership styles play a critical role in shaping employees' work attitudes and intentions to remain with their organizations. This study examines how transformational and abusive leadership relate to turnover intentions, with a focus on how job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment mediate these relationships. Survey data were collected from 304 employees across diverse Portuguese organizations, using validated measures of leadership styles, job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Using serial multiple regression analyses with bootstrapping procedures, transformational leadership was positively associated with job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment and negatively associated with turnover intentions. In contrast, abusive leadership showed the opposite pattern of associations. Job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment were negatively related to turnover intentions and were identified as key attitudinal intervening variables in the associations between leadership styles and turnover intentions. Overall, the findings highlight contrasting associations between positive and negative leadership styles and key employee attitudes and turnover intentions, underscoring the importance of job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment for understanding employee retention in organizational contexts.

Research in various occupational contexts has demonstrated the relevance of affective organizational commitment in generating beneficial outcomes for workers and organizations in terms of well-being, performance, and customer satisfaction. Findings from a small number of prison studies confirm the relevance of commitment for prison workers and prison agencies. Of the various existing measures, the affective organizational commitment scale is the most acclaimed instrument to measure affective organizational commitment outside the penitentiary environment. However, it is unclear whether the scale is suitable for prison contexts. In this paper, we explore the psychometric qualities of the scale among a sample of Dutch prison workers and five additional subsamples reflecting specific job roles ( N total = 2,667). The findings validate the suitability of the affective organizational commitment scale in a prison context. We consider limitations and discuss implications for researchers interested in the study of affective organizational commitment of prison staff.

Purpose I dedicated the study to employee quiet quitting (QQ) syndrome and present here my operationalization of QQ as concurrent low engagement and affective organizational commitment. I analyzed determinants such as supportive leadership style, remote work preference, and the employee’s inclination to change jobs. Design/methodology/approach I conducted the survey using the CAWI method with a representative sample, from which I extracted 314 working respondents for further analysis. I verified seven hypotheses based on the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and a multiple regression analysis. Findings People who display QQ syndrome are young, have no managerial support, and plan to change jobs within the next year. There is also a negative relation between concurrent high engagement, affective commitment, and the lacking possibility of the preferred remote mode of working, which relates to willingness to change jobs with a higher salary. Research limitations/implications The main limitations related to the respondents’ subjectivity and the research sample. A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with both employees and employers would be an interesting source of information on QQ. It is worthwhile to analyze the quantitative data by testing the model through confirmatory path analysis. I recommend developing a supportive leadership style. The material motivators do not guarantee a QQ reduction. To maintain a high engagement and commitment, employees should receive managerial support and be allowed to work remotely. Originality/value At the methodological level, the study contributes the proposed operationalization of QQ for use in further research. The empirical contribution lies in providing data confirming the importance of leadership and remote work preferences as potential determinants of the QQ phenomenon. The obtained results support the development of solutions to prevent its occurrence.

Purpose This study examines how organizational transparency influences interpersonal trust, affective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors toward individuals (OCBI) in the tourism sector. It proposes an integrated model to understand how transparent practices foster trust among employees and promote voluntary prosocial behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected from 249 employees across 50 tourism companies in Spain through surveys. Relationships were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with EQS 6.4 software. Findings The results indicate that organizational transparency positively influences interpersonal trust and organizational commitment. Affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between transparency and trust, while interpersonal trust promotes OCBI. This suggests that transparency builds trust and emotional attachment, encouraging collaborative and discretionary helping behaviors among employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by proposing a comprehensive causal model linking transparency, affective commitment, interpersonal trust, and OCBI– constructs often studied separately. It highlights the role of peer-based trust, expanding beyond vertical or institutional trust perspectives. The results offer practical insights for HR and leadership strategies aiming to build trust and cooperation without relying on formal incentives.

Low employee commitment remains a critical challenge in human resource management across various organizations. This study aims to explore how employees perceive work motivation and how these perceptions shape organizational commitment from the perspective of employee experiences. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed, involving active employees as research participants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, supported by source triangulation to ensure credibility. The findings reveal that work motivation is perceived as a personal and dynamic drive shaped by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic motivation, including meaningful work, recognition, and opportunities for personal development, plays a dominant role in fostering affective organizational commitment. In contrast, extrinsic motivation tends to produce more pragmatic and short-term forms of commitment. These results highlight the importance of managing meaningful work experiences to strengthen sustainable organizational commitment.

Purpose Using the Job Demands-Resources model, this study examined principals’ intention to leave their school in relation to job demands that may limit a school’s capacity to provide quality instruction and job resources that may have motivational and buffering effects on principals’ responses to these demands. Design/methodology/approach Based on data from an online questionnaire (N = 671), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses alongside a structural equation model were used to examine relationships among job resources (work climate and support from upper management), job demands (teachers’ disengagement and lack of resources), contributing to principals’ job-related stress and organizational commitment as antecedents to principals’ turnover intentions. Findings Access to job resources correlates with higher affective organizational commitment. In contrast, demands associated with teacher disengagement are associated with increased job-related stress and turnover intentions. Principals with greater affective commitment exhibit a notable reduction in the association between these job demands and their turnover intention. Research limitations/implications These include relying on turnover intentions as a proxy for actual turnover behavior and sampling only active principals; the use of a convenience sample; and testing relationship pathways among variables proposed by the theoretical model (JD-R), rather than testing for cause-and-effect relationships. Practical implications Frequent turnover of school principals hinders sustained school improvement. This study identifies factors influencing turnover and retention, which can inform the implementation of policies and professional development programs that can address challenges related to job-related stress and resources that foster affective organizational commitment. Originality/value This study addresses a gap in the research concerning the association of working conditions, motivational, and well-being characteristics of principals in Latin America, particularly in Chile. The research advances comprehension of international differences revealed by the TALIS surveys, specifically examining job demands and resources that affect principals’ stress levels, organizational commitment, and intentions to leave their positions, which could be associated with specific policies that define the work demands and priorities of principals.

ObjectiveEmployee happiness is employees’ positive feelings about their work and quality of life. Previous research has mainly focused on employees’ own characteristics and behaviors, while there has been relatively little research on how leadership values affect employee happiness.MethodsA survey was conducted among employees in service industry companies in Guangdong Province, yielding 448 valid responses. Using empirical analysis, the study examines how leaders’ altruistic and egoistic values influence leadership effectiveness and, subsequently, employee happiness through emotional and cognitive mechanisms.ResultsThe findings show that leaders with altruistic values significantly improve leadership effectiveness, thereby improving employee happiness through a dual pathway: emotions cultivated by affective organizational commitment and cognitive appraisals as reflected in contact and satisfaction with management. These results highlight the key role of altruistic values in creating an organizational culture oriented toward employee happiness, underlining their importance in fostering trust, support, and collaboration within teams. In contrast, the study found that leaders with strong egoistic values had no significant positive impact on leadership, suggesting that overly self-centered values may undermine a leader’s credibility and influence among employees.ImplicationsThis study provides a novel perspective on improving employee happiness by highlighting the importance of cultivating and promoting altruistic values in leadership development programs. It emphasizes the need for organizations to prioritize value-driven leadership practices that balance organizational goals and employee happiness, ultimately promoting a supportive and collaborative work environment.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work-life balance, and to determine the mediating role of Affective organizational commitment in this relationship. The study group for the model consists of employees from sports clubs and centers in Ankara (n = 384). The survey technique, one of the quantitative data collection methods, was used in the study. The survey consists of four sections: Personal Information Form, Perceived Supervisor Support Scale, Work Life Balance Scale, and Affective Organizational Commitment Scale. In the study, the relational screening model, also known as the causal research model, was employed, and the analyses were conducted using a dataset consisting of questionnaire forms, the validity of which was verified using SPSS and the Process Macro 4.2 plugin. As a result of the study, it was found that perceived supervisor support has a negative and significant effect on work-life balance and a positive and significant impact on affective organizational commitment. Additionally, affective organizational commitment negatively and strongly affects work-life balance. According to the analysis results, organizational commitment mediates the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work-life balance. Since there are few studies on the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work-life balance, this research aims to contribute to the literature. The study is expected to capture the attention of managers who prioritize their employees' organizational commitment and well-being.

Various antecedents of employee performance (EP) have been studied, but the relationship model among these variables remains a topic of debate. Establishing such a model is crucial for business owners to identify and prioritize the most important variables in improving EP. Therefore, this research aimed to test the relationship model of organizational commitment (OC), specifically affective organizational commitment (AOC) and continuance organizational commitment (COC), work engagement (WE), as well as intrinsic motivation (IM), in improving EP. A total of 717 employees from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia were selected as respondents. After testing the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument, the relationship model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) in two steps. The results showed that the four psychological forces and employees' work attitudes influence each other and increase EP. WE and IM were two variables that could consistently increase EP directly. WE could increase motivation and commitment, as motivation has consistently been considered as a mediating variable in this relationship model. This research contributed to the evidence of social exchange theory, self-determination theory, and resource-based view in managing and improving EP. It also provided important discussions on the need to improve WE to achieve high performance.

This research explores how work ability, job placement, and organizational commitment affect employee performance at KPP Madya Dua Surabaya, a public tax office under Indonesia’s Directorate General of Taxes. Amid increasing expectations for transparency, accountability, and service quality in public organizations, human resources are a central factor in institutional success. A quantitative causal approach was applied, collecting data from 97 employees via structured questionnaires assessing technical, conceptual, and social skills, job-role alignment, and organizational identification, involvement, and loyalty. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate both individual and combined effects on employee performance. Results indicate that employees’ work ability significantly enhances performance by enabling them to handle complex tasks, leverage their knowledge efficiently, and adapt to organizational and technological changes. Job placement that aligns competencies with roles further boosts performance by promoting efficiency, creativity, and task accuracy. High organizational commitment, demonstrated through identification with organizational goals, pride, engagement, and loyalty, increases motivation and sustained effort, improving performance outcomes. The simultaneous analysis confirms that the interplay of abilities, proper placement, and commitment substantially drives performance, emphasizing the importance of integrated human resource management strategies. These findings provide practical guidance for training, precise assignment of roles, and fostering a motivating organizational culture, while offering a basis for future studies to investigate additional determinants of employee performance in public institutions.

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study investigates the profiles underpinning the trajectories of affective organizational commitment observed across the basic training period and the subsequent 9 months of employment among a sample of 4859 military recruits and officer cadets. We also considered how these trajectories were associated with components of the onboarding process (i.e. perceived realism of job previews, socialization, satisfaction with the implications of military life for work–life balance, and identity conflict) and important outcome variables (turnover and transition intention, job satisfaction, and perceived performance). Three profiles were identified: (1) Committed, (2) Learning to Love, (3) Failure to Commit. Socialization and identity conflict were both associated with profile membership and within-profile differences in the shape of these trajectories. Employees’ satisfaction with the implication of military life for their work–life balance was linked to strong organizational commitment. In contrast, exposure to previews seen as more realistic seemed to help avoid very low levels of commitment. Profiles with higher and increasing levels of commitment displayed lower average levels of turnover and transition intentions and greater average levels of job satisfaction, although associations involving changes in these outcomes over time were much weaker. Associations with perceived performance at the end of basic training were minimal.

This paper examines the relationship between transformational leadership (TL), affective organizational commitment (AOC), public service motivation (PSM), and perceived organizational performance (POP). A structural equation modeling was used to examine the perceptions of 112 public employees in Ethiopian Public Service Employees Transport Service Enterprise (PSETSE). The result indicates that transformational leadership has a positive, significant but medium relationship with perceived organization performance, affective organizational commitment, and public service motivation. It is also found that TL has a positive effect on AOC, PSM and POP. However, the level of influence slightly differs. It is revealed that 29.6%, 41.6% and 23.5% of change on civil servant’s perceived organizational performance, affective organizational commitment, and public service motivation respectively is explained by the variation in the transformational leadership at the Enterprise. It is found that affective organizational commitment has significant contribution in the improvement of organizational performance at Enterprise. The result also indicated that public service motivation has a significantly positive relation with and influences on both perceived organizational performance and affective organizational commitment. AOC and PSM have mediating effect on perceived organizational performance albeit the indirect effect is weak. It is also found that none of the control variables (gender, age, marital status, educational background and work experience) has any significant effect on affective organizational commitment, public service motivation, and perceived organizational performance. It is possible to conclude that transformational leadership does play an important role in determining the levels of perceived organizational performance, both directly and indirectly, but only at medium level.

This study focuses on how Transformational Leadership affects Employee Engagement among 512 people who took part in a survey in service and knowledge-based sectors. We used SEM and OLS regression and discovered that Transformational Leadership is strongly linked with Employee Engagement (β ≈ 0.42, p < .001), just as the general correlation between leaders and follower engagement previously shown in 86 studies found (r ≈ 0.47). Furthermore, psychological empowerment came up as a key influence, agreeing with Fareed et al.’s (2023) view of empowerment as what connects TFL to good project outcomes. Even though voice and safety matters for employees enhanced how much TFL has achieved, belief in a just world and psychological ownership were important factors in both this study and those conducted in organizations. As evidence, new research from hospitality by Afsar et al. (2022) and from pharmaceuticals by Emerald (2024) says that employee engagement links TFL with commitment and retention, and increases both affective organizational commitment and job performance Because the current global cost of disengagement is very high (close to US $8.8 trillion), these findings remind us why it is essential for organizations to focus on TFL. Some practical ways are to build leadership development programs for the “four I’s,” add empowerment routines, and create a fair workplace that supports psychological safety so that TFL truly helps achieve better organizational results.