CASUALIZATION, ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEES’ TURNOVER INTENTIONS.

Allen and Meyer (1996:252) defined organizational commitment as “a psychological link between the employee and his or her organization that makes it less likely that the employee will voluntarily leave the organization”

Lower levels of organizational commitment amongst casual employees may arise because of the precarious nature of their employment (Campbell, 1996). Caudon (cited in Dessler et’al, 2004:198) posited that “people have a psychological reference point to their place of employment. Once you put them in the temporary category, you are saying they are expendable and therefore they are less likely to exhibit loyalty and commitment to their organizations”.

Organizational commitment has benefits for employers and employees (Mowday, 1998).
For employees, commitment to work and in an organization represents a positive relationship that could ‘potentially add meaning to life’, whereas, for employers, having committed employees has the potentials for increased performance and reduced turnover and absenteeism. Organizational commitment has also been linked tentatively to an organization’s efficiency, productivity, creativity and innovation (Hom & Griffeth, 1995 cited in Mir, Mir & Mosca, 2002:189) as well as its profitability (Raab & McCain, 2002). One of the few strong links in the literature is that between employee commitment to an organization and staff turnover. As Allen and Meyer explained ‘employee who are strongly committed are those who are least likely to leave the organization’ (1990:1).

Turnover intention is consistently related to affective and to a lesser extent, normative commitment. Correlations between continuance commitment and turnover intentions are less consistent across studies. Similar results have been found in studies measuring actual turnover, where turnover was significantly related to affective and normative commitment but not continuance commitment, (Allen & Meyer, 1996:264-6).

The traditional industrial relations system based on the concept of full-time employees working within an enterprise is increasingly being challenged by the use of nonstandard work arrangements (NSWA) by employers. This changing nature of work has taken a new dimension with the adoption of flexible work arrangements by many firms globally. The theme running through many of the new approaches to management in today’s globalized economy is the development of a more flexible workforce which has become employers‟ new frontier in the management of human resources and basis of their employment policies. However, these changing patterns of work (e.g. casual, contract, temporary, part-time employments, subcontracting, outsourcing/insourcing etc.) occasioned by Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP), have created concerns for workers and trade unions alike, especially in Nigeria. Job security, social security, terminal benefits and minimum conditions of work are some of the issues of concern.

The push toward casualisation in Nigeria is evident of a continued effort by government and corporate elites to maximize profit at the expense of a long-term jobs policy, transparent governance and shared economic development. Casualization is a great malady that has engulfed the Nigerian workplace.

Casualisation as a form of labour practice has been defined by most management writers as the process by which employment shifts from a preponderance of full time and permanent positions to higher levels of casual positions. It can also be viewed as an employment of an irregular or intermittent nature (Rodriguez, 2009). The concept “casualisation” has proved to be a cankerworm in the flesh of the workforce of both developed and developing economies. For instance, casualisation of employment in Nigeria as well as other parts of the world is fast gaining grounds in an unprecedented proportion, intensity and scale.

The increase in the spread and gradual acceptance of this illicit labour practice in the Nigerian labour market to be particular has become an issue of great concern to the government, labour organisations, academic researchers and the employees themselves. This level of concern is shown by the current rate of alarm being raised by the Nigerian labour Congress (NLC) against employers accompanied by serious threats and warnings which has been concurrent within the past few years. Available records have shown that within the shortest space of time, employers of labour are increasingly filling positions in their organisations that are supposed to be permanent with casual employees.

The reason for this has been largely attributed to the increasing desperation on the side of employers to cut down the organizational cost and as such, they have considered casualisation of employment as the appropriate strategy for cost reduction. Viewing this from the periphery, it seems to be a justifiable point since reduced cost means higher profit which is the ultimate goal of every organization.

However, in the ultimate end, it presents lots of challenges for the employees and organisations alike which employers may be ignorant of or possibly have neglected. The employees’ commitments have been greatly adversely affected and this has hampered their engagement level and jacked up their turnover intentions particularly in the financial sector of the economy.

This is exactly the kind of stuff I love reading on weekends! Very well written.

Nice one OP.

amicable09:
This is exactly the kind of stuff I love reading on weekends! Very well written.

Nice one OP.

see me for your back.....keep my jollof, actually wollof from Senegal, rice ooo. I ll b d last person to wish you a fantastic Birthday.

Babacele:
see me for your back.....keep my jollof, actually wollof from Senegal, rice ooo. I ll b d last person to wish you a fantastic Birthday.

Lol.
Why last position na? No gift for last position in class o!

Thanks all the same
Come for your wollof tomorrow.
Have you been to Senegal before?

amicable09:
Lol. Why last position na? No gift for last position in class o!
Thanks all the same Come for your wollof tomorrow. Have you been to Senegal before?

OK ma, Never been to Senegal.

Babacele:
OK ma, Never been to Senegal.

Will you want to visit? I love tourism personally.

amicable09:
Will you want to visit? I love tourism personally.

I'd like to go with you oo. Why won't I?

Babacele:
I'd like to go with you oo. Why won't I?