Factors Related to Organizational Commitment Among Social Workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Background and purposes: Organizational commitment relates to employees’ acceptance of organizational goals and their willingness to dedicate effort to achieving those goals.  High levels of organizational commitment advance organizational effectiveness, which has been documented through lower levels of absenteeism, tardiness and turnover (Armstrong, 2009).  Although there is a sizable body of literature on organizational effectiveness within social service agencies and employees generally, very little is known about organizational commitment among social workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).  In addition to regular professional challenges (e.g., job stress, low pay, high caseload), Palestinian social workers face a host of additional challenges including an unstable political environment.  These challenges make their ability to complete tasks extremely difficult and increases feelings of stress and anger (Blome & Safadi, 2015).  Thus, the purpose of the current investigation was to understand factors related to organizational commitment among Palestinian social workers.  Two central research questions guided the study: 1) Are socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, education, income, gender) related to organizational commitment?; 2) Are worker and agency factors (e.g., service orientation, organizational support,  job stress) related to organizational commitment?

 

Methods: Data for this quantitative, cross-sectional study were collected in the summer of 2016 at 12 government social service offices of the Ministry of Social Development located in different towns in the West Bank.  Participants completed paper-based surveys containing approximately 125 items (N = 237).  Univariate procedures were used to describe sample characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, income) and variables of interest.  Bivariate correlations and simultaneous multiple regression (MRA) were then conducted to examine the contribution of key variables in our model, including social-demographic characteristics, service orientation, organizational support, and job stress to organizational commitment.

 

Results: Multivarate results showed that the model is significant and explained 18% of variance in organizational commitment (F (9, 197) = 4.73, p < .000). Regression coefficients indicated that service orientation, organizational support, and job stress significantly predicted organization commitment. More specifically, respondents with positive attitudes toward provision of social services (b = .427, p < .000) and support from their employer (b = .187, p < .05) were more likely to have high levels of organizational commitment.  As predicted, higher levels of job stress were negatively related to organizational commitment (b = -.162, p< .05).

 

Conclusion and implications: Results draw attention to the importance of developing and implementing supportive policies and practices that help promote organizational commitment among Palestinian social workers. These include understanding social workers’ needs and wants, rewarding their achievement, and reducing their stress through programs such as equal payment, job evaluation, training, career development opportunity, supportive supervision, and relaxation activities. Also, hiring social workers with higher levels of service orientation is necessary and could be accomplished through screening instruments during the application process.  Future research is still needed to explore other factors that related to organizational commitment, and to examine the impact of organizational commitment on the quality of services provided to needy people in the OPT.