Commitment and Wellbeing: The Relationship Dilemma in a Two-Wave Study

Abstract

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There has been little consensus around the sequential relationship between organizational affective commitment and workers’ wellbeing. In line with the Conservation of Resources Theory, results of this two-wave study with a contact center employee sample (N = 483) showed that organizational affective commitment decreases work ill-being (i.e., burnout) and increases work wellbeing (i.e., work-engagement). Furthermore, in keeping with the loss spiral assumption of this theory, the mediating role of burnout in the affective commitment-health relationship was supported in this study. However, in accordance with the Job Demand-Resources, work engagement was found not to prevent effects on health. The findings have implications for the organizational affective commitment theory, as well as for organizational occupational health policies and interventions.

Keywords

• commitment
• burnout
• engagement
• health perceptions
• two-wave