Demographic Differences in Organizational Commitment among Catholic Religious Men and Women Working in Rural Areas: A Case of Lodwar Diocese in Turkana County, Kenya

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VII, July 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Demographic Differences in Organizational Commitment among Catholic Religious Men and Women Working in Rural Areas: A Case of Lodwar Diocese in Turkana County, Kenya

Wambua Pius Muasa¹, Sahaya. G. Selvam (PhD)², Elijah Macharia Ndung’u (PhD)^3
1,³Department of Counselling Psychology, Catholic University of Eastern Africa
²Institute of Youth Studies, Tangaza University College

ABSTRACT
This study sought to examine organizational commitment among Catholic religious men and women. This was as result of the fact that organizational commitment could affect other psychological dispositions of these men and women which could affect their overall functioning in ministry. The study was guided by two theories: Maslach Burnout Model by Maslach and Jackson and Job Demands-Resources Model by Bakker and his colleagues. The study adopted descriptive research design. Using census sampling, a sample size of 131 participants was included in the study which comprised the whole population of the study. The data was collected using a standardized questionnaire. Pre-testing of standardized instruments was carried out before the actual data collection to ensure its reliability and validity. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics using SPSS Version 32. The study found that the level of organization commitment was high (mean=21.7608) among respondents. Specifically, the subscale of affective commitment had the highest score (mean=24.7405) followed by normative commitment (mean=22.9542) and continuance commitment (mean=17.5878).

INTRODUCTION

According Meyer and Allen (1984), organizational commitment has three dimensions: affective, continuance and moral. Active commitment is the first dimension of organizational commitment. This is a type of engagement in which the organization’s participants have a voluntary psychological link with the organization (Lambert et al., 2008).Those who have this form of commitment identify themselves with the congregation and they work towards making the organization realize its goals and mission (Mowday, 1998). Members form commitment with the organization because they perceive positive treatment and that allows them to have sense of belonging with the organization. The person with affective commitment is likely to suffer less burnout compared to those who operate from continuance and moral commitments.
Continuance commitment is the second dimension of organizational commitment. It occurs when the employees have invested widely in the organization in terms of time, contribution to the organization, level of income, relationship with the colleagues. This type of commitment continues because if the person leaves the organization is going to incur more loss than benefits (Hogan, Lembert, & Griffin, 2013).

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