The impact of job satisfaction and organisational commitment on intention to leave amongst non-academic staff at a tertiary institution in the Western Cape

Abstract

A critical feature of globalisation is to attract and retain intellectual capital to ensure that a cadre of highly skilled, independent, internationally marketable and mobile employees is achieved (Sutherland & Jordaan, 2004). Bagraim and Sader (2007) concur by stating that South African organisations in an increasingly dynamic globalised economy, strive to increase the organisation‟s competitiveness by ensuring they need to retain and motivate skilled employees. The plethora of literature available on organisational commitment and job satisfaction is testament to achieving the above (Aamodt, 1999; Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982; Robbins; 2001; Robbins & Judge; 2007). Withdrawal behaviours such as tardiness, absenteeism and turnover have been found to be inversely related to both job satisfaction and organisational commitment (Bergh, 2011; Mowday et al., 1982; Robbins, 2001). It is therefore believed that satisfied and committed employees are more likely to remain with an organisation and to perform at higher levels. The relationship between job satisfaction and organisational commitment has particularly important implications for service organisations. In a recent study, conducted in a service environment, it was demonstrated that highly committed employees exerted more effort towards satisfying the needs of customers. The effort was found, in turn, to raise the level of customer satisfaction (Malherbe & Pearse, 2003). Moreover, the latter study lent strong support to the notion that increased job satisfaction is likely to stimulate greater commitment.