An Examination of Organizational and Professional Commitment Among Public, Not-for-Profit, and Proprietary Social Service Employees

The present research explores whether workers' commitment to their organization and commitment to their profession are related to an organization's auspice, to the nature of their job, and to employees' personal characteristics. Two hundred seven (207) social service employees from three types of organizational auspices participated in this study. These consisted of (1) public, (2) not-for-profit and (3) proprietary organizations. Using a oneway ANOVA and multiple regression analysis, it was found that both organizational and professional commitment are related to auspice. The three organizational groups were distributed along a continuum: public, not-for-profit, and proprietary, with workers from public organizations reporting less commitment. In addition, the findings regarding the professional commitment of social service workers appear to be related to employees' ages and to their position within the organization.