The interplay of personal and job characteristics in determining work commitment

This study examines the interplay of personal and job characteristics as these determine work commitment, or the extent to which employees define themselves in terms of work rather than other roles. A framework which incorporates work and nonwork perspectives on attachment to work is proposed to guide analyses of the interrelationships between job conditions, individual characteristics, and work commitment. Results of moderated multiple regression analyses of data from over 4000 manufacturing employees are consistent with the proposed framework. The conditions of work-particularly the level of intrinsic rewards-strongly affect work commitment levels among many different groups of people. Yet aspects of nonwork life which reflect a strong alternative source of identity detract from relative commitment to work. There is some evidence that the personal scripts which are brought to the job through prior socialization have independent effects on work commitment as well. Significant interactions between personal and job characteristics in determining work commitment suggest that the relationships differ for people who have different personal backgrounds and different types of jobs in ways which are consistent with the theoretical framework. Taken together, the results suggest that we need more sophisticated models of the relationship between the person and the work role that account for this interplay.