The Influence of Work Attitude on Organizational Commitment among Graduates in Shandong

The Influence of Work Attitude on Organizational Commitment among Graduates in Shandong

Bingzhong Qiu¹, Ying-Leh Ling²

¹Information Centre, Qilu Medical University, Zibo, China

²Mathematics, Science and Computer Department, Politeknik Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9010287

Received: 14 January 2025; Accepted: 18 January 2025; Published: 19 February 2025

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the high turnover rate among “post-90s” university graduates has become a significant concern. The low organisational commitment among graduates has contributed to the high turnover rate. The inadequate work attitude of Chinese graduates’ negatively affects their organisational commitment, leading to a disproportionately high turnover rate among graduates. This study investigated the impact of work attitudes on graduates’ organisational commitment. A model of the relationship between work attitude and organisational commitment is proposed based on social cognitive theory. To validate the model, this study adopted a quantitative research method to collect data by distributing questionnaires to 430 graduates who had been employed and who had graduated from a university in Shandong for half a year through the online platform of “Wen juanxing”. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling. The results of the study showed that Shandong graduates’ work attitudes had a significant and positive effect on organisational commitment. This study empirically validates social cognitive theory and refines the theoretical model. The results of the study provide a valuable reference for institutions of higher education to adjust their curricula and pay attention to the development of work attitudes. Enterprises should also improve work attitudes by increasing employee job satisfaction and engagement, enhancing employees’ organisational commitment, and effectively reducing employee turnover.

Keywords— work attitude, organizational commitment, graduates

INTRODUCTION

Some organisations in China have been caught in a downward spiral of change, leading to further increases in turnover. Tong and Wen (2023) found that the new generation of post-90s workers entering the workplace experienced higher average quit rates. This is also evidenced by the Insights into Urban Mobility Trends of Young Professionals report, where the average length of time workers is in their first job shows a significant generational decline, with those born in the 1970s staying in their first job for more than four years on average before changing it, compared to three and a half years for those born in the 1980s and 19 months for those born in the 1990s (Kuang & Lai, 2021). The problem appears to be worse for the post-1995 generation, who quit after just seven months on average. Mycos Research Institute (2023) has shown that the turnover rate of 2022 university graduates within six months is 33%, meaning that almost four out of 10 graduates chose to change jobs within the first six months.

Bandura (1977) suggested that behavioural factors, environmental factors, and individual behaviour interact with each other. Work attitude is a stable judgment and emotion produced by an individual, which includes subjective factors, objective cognitive factors, and behavioural factors (Hodgetts, 1979). According to Allen and Meyer (1990), most of the conceptualizations of organisational commitment in the literature are related to turnover. And also proposed a three-component model divided into affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. Lokman Mohd Tahir, Khadijah Daud, and Rozita Rahmat (2011) revealed that every good employee can firmly commit to his organisation when the work attitude is practised regularly and structured. This study investigated the effects of work attitude on graduates’ organisational commitment. Chinese graduates’ inadequate work attitude affects their organisational commitment, leading to a disproportionately high turnover rate among graduates. If this problem remains unresolved for a long period, it will affect the career development of graduates, the reputation of the university, and the stability of society.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Behaviour arises through the interaction between individuals and their environment. Environmental factors (overall social environment, organisational policies and culture), individual cognition and personal factors (e.g., personal motivation, personal attitudes) interact with and influence behaviour (Bandura, 1977). Thus, personal factors, environmental factors, and individual behaviour generally interpenetrate and reinforce each other, forming a triadic system of interactive determinants of the subject’s skill activities (Bandura, 1986).

Work Attitude

Robbins (1997) believes that positive and negative mental perceptions of various aspects of work, such as the environment, are reflected in work behaviour as work attitude. Work attitude refers to the cognitive evaluation and work tendency of everyone towards the work they engage in and the things around them in the work process. Hodgetts (1979) emphasised the work attitude of an employee, including subjective perception and objective evaluation of their work. Peng (2012) measured and evaluated work attitude from the three dimensions of job satisfaction, work engagement and intention to quit on the psychological contract of knowledge workers. In conclusion, this study measured and evaluated work attitudes from job satisfaction, work engagement, and intention to quit.

Organizational Commitment

Organisational commitment was first researched by American sociologist Becker (1960), who defined organisational commitment as a psychological phenomenon in which employees are compelled to stay with an organisation as their commitment to the organisation increases. Organisational commitment, therefore, reflects a psychological contract between employees and the organisation and appears as an antecedent or outcome variable in some studies. Sociologist Wiener (1982) explored the definition of organisational commitment from the perspectives of responsibility, morality, and education and argued that organisational commitment is an internalised behavioural norm, i.e., the norms of behaviour that an individual continuously internalises during the process of socialisation.

Mathews and Shepherd (2002) suggest that organisational commitment is an individual’s high level of identification with the organisation’s goals and values and a strong desire to work hard to achieve and stay with the organisation. In addition, the study of Yao, Shang, Pang, Luo, and Jiao (2022) also identified organizational commitment as the most important factor influencing turnover intention, and the scores from high to low were normative commitment, economic commitment, ideal commitment, emotional commitment, and opportunity commitment. Utami, Widiatna, Ayuningrum, Putri, Herlyna, and Adisel (2021) said that organizational commitment is individuals’ psychological attachment to their organizations marked by trust and acceptance of organizational values and characteristics, as well as intense motivation and desire to reach the vision and mission for organizational existence. In this research, organizational commitment is identified as an important employee attitude variable, which is divided into affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment.

Relationship between work attitude and organizational commitment

Demir and Tatar (2022) emphasize the significant impact of attitude on behaviour, effort, interest, and awareness. Rhoades and Eisenberger (2002) further argue that job satisfaction and organizational commitment serve as mediating variables between organizational support and employee turnover behaviours. A positive work attitude plays a crucial role in fostering commitment to the organization and enhancing emotional intelligence. Lokman Mohd Tahir, Khadijah Daud, and Rozita Rahmat (2011) discovered that employees who consistently practice and exhibit a positive work attitude tend to demonstrate a strong commitment to their organization.

It was found that work attitude and emotional intelligence are interconnected in influencing organisational commitment (Ahad, Mustafa, Mohamad Saadah, Abdullah, & Nordin, 2021). There is a significant positive correlation between organisational commitment and work performance, organisational commitment and work attitude, and work attitude and work performance. Job performance can significantly mediate between organisational commitment and work attitude (Wei & Luo, 2022).

Faisal-E-Alam and Nahar (2022) suggested that employee satisfaction in the workplace significantly predicts employee continuance commitment. Kodikal and Rahiman (2024) proposed that organizational commitment is a higher level of motivation which also affects the work attitude of the employees. Setiawan, Herawati, Alhadi, Sayuti, Rini, Bustan and Desiana’s (2023) study on small and medium enterprises in Indonesia found that job satisfaction variables affect organisational commitment. Based on the previous literature, researcher consider it important to examine and analyse the relationship between work attitude and organizational commitment, but there is a lack of research on post-90s Chinese graduates. The hypothesis to be tested in this study is:

There is a significant influence of work attitude on organisational commitment among graduates in Shandong.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study aimed to explore the relationship between work attitude and organisational commitment of university graduates. A quantitative research methodology was used in this study and a structured questionnaire was first designed to collect relevant data. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, the first part contained demographic information including gender, age and faculty. The second part was a work attitude scale and the third part was the organisational commitment scale. In this study, work attitudes consisted of three dimensions: job satisfaction, work engagement, and intention to quit. Among these dimensions, job satisfaction was measured using the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale developed by Scottand (1997), work engagement was measured using the shortened version of the scale (UWES-9) developed by Schaufeli, Bakker, and Salanova (2006), and intention to leave was measured using the scale developed by Bishop and Chen (2003). The Organisational Commitment Scale for Graduates in this study was adopted from the Three-Factor Measurement Scale (Revised) developed by Meyer and Allen (1997). The questionnaire was modified to adapt to the actual situation in China and the Chinese language expression habits. For a better understanding of the questionnaire, the selected scales were translated in both English and Chinese. A pilot study was conducted prior to the main study to ensure the feasibility of the intended methodology used in the study.

The target population of this study is college graduates within six months of graduation. In this study, the researcher used stratified random sampling to select 430 out of 4834 graduates employed in 2024 for the questionnaire survey. The ethical concerns of the participants were considered in all aspects of the study. The study ensured that all participants fully volunteered to participate and understood and agreed to the aims and procedures of the study, as well as their rights and interests, before participation. This was done by first categorising the 4834 graduates that have been employed according to their faculties, who are from eight faculties, and then determining the number of sample units to be drawn from each department according to the proportion of graduates. Considering the need for the study participants to have six months of work experience, the researchers distributed 430 questionnaires between August 2024 and September 2024, of which 420 were valid. To ensure the effective distribution of the questionnaire and high-quality data collection, this study chose the “Wen Juanxing” platform to distribute the questionnaire and collect data through this platform. The use of an online questionnaire platform, which may exclude certain groups of graduates who are not accustomed to online surveys or have limited access to the Internet, and possible biases in the data (e.g., social desirability bias or response bias).

After data collection, the study used Smart PLS to conduct Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis to test the research hypotheses. Finally, the results of the study were discussed in detail and comprehensive and in-depth conclusions were drawn based on the analyses to answer the research questions.The researcher firstly performed data cleaning and normal distribution detection on the collected formal data and performed basic distribution statistics of the sample including age, gender, and major with the help of SPSS 27.0. The researcher then tested the measurement model using Smart PLS 3.0. The test of measurement model reliability included indicator reliability and internal consistency test, and the test of measurement model validity included convergent validity and discriminant validity. The structural model was analysed. Finally, the researcher mainly tested the structural model through covariance detection, path analysis, Coefficient of determination R², Assess the effect sizes f², Assess the predictive relevance Q².

RESEARCH FINDINGS

In this study, 420 valid questionnaires collected, were subjected to data screening, normal distribution detection and statistical analysis of the underlying distribution. The questionnaires contained the basic information of the respondents including gender, age and college. In terms of gender, there were 221 female respondents with a slightly higher percentage of 53 per cent. In terms of age distribution, the age range of the respondents was from 21 to 26 years, out of which 148 (35.2 per cent) were 23 years old and 188 (44.8 per cent) were 24 years old, which accounted for a larger proportion. The demographic information of the respondents showed that the sample was diverse in terms of gender, profession and age, which contributed to a deeper understanding of the diversity and representativeness of the sample.

Measurement Model Analysis

The reliability test of measurement model includes indicator reliability test and internal consistency test. The validity test of the measurement model includes convergent validity and discriminant validity. The results of the fitted structure of the two variables were obtained by analysing the partial least squares algorithm as well as the 5000 times self-help method model through Smart PLS 3.0. The external loading coefficients (i.e., coefficients on each path) for work attitudes ranged from .830 to .957, which meets the indicator confidence requirements for reflective indicators. The corresponding t-values range from 33.477 to 129.612 and are statistically significant. The external loadings for the Organizational Commitment Structure range from .807 to .920, which is higher than the recommended .70, and the t-values range from 23.652 to 59.829, which is statistically significant, and it can be determined that the Organizational Commitment Structure has a relatively good indicator reliability.

The researcher examined the internal consistency of the measurement model in terms of Cronbach’s Alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), and the reliability coefficient rho A. The Cronbach’s alpha values for Work Attitude and Organisational Commitment were .899 and.957.The Cronbach’s alpha values of the variables can help to some extent in assessing the degree of consistency between items within the measurement instrument. Further validation of the composite reliability (CR) was also done through Smart PLS 3.0. The composite reliability values of .918 and .961 for work attitude and organisational commitment showed that the measurement model has good internal consistency to safeguard its reliability and stability. The reliability coefficients ρA of the measurement constructs in this study were greater than .70, indicating that the variables in the study have good reliability.

The average variance extracted (AVE) of the first-order constructs in this study was greater than .5, and the AVE of the second-order construct ‘work attitude’ was .559, which indicates that they all have convergent validity. Overall, the variables in this study met the appropriate requirements in terms of convergent validity, which validated the measurement model to some extent. As can be seen from Table 1, the HTMT values of the first-order constructs are all less than .9, which indicates that the first-order constructs have good discriminant validity.

Table 1: HTMT Distinctive Validity Test Scale

Structural Model Analysis

The researcher conducted covariance tests for the reflective measurement variables of the external model and the formative variables of the structural model respectively, and from the measurement model covariance tests, the VIF values of all the variables were less than 5, which indicated that the model did not suffer from significant multicollinearity problems (Hair et al., 2022). The results of the path analysis showed a significant positive effect of work attitude (WA) on organisational commitment (OC) (path coefficient=0.619, t=14.568, p<0.001, 95% CI= [0.534,0.698]).

Table 2: Structural model evaluation test table

The coefficient of determination R² in structural equation modelling is the most commonly used and effective measure of a model’s predictive power (Hair et al., 2019). The coefficient of determination of organisational commitment in this study, R², was .511, which according to Chin (1998), implies that the model has a medium level of explanatory power for the organisational commitment of graduates, i.e., the organisational commitment (51.1%) can be explained by the independent variable factors in the model. The effect size f² was used to detect the magnitude of the effect of exogenous variables on endogenous variables in the structural model (Gamil & Abd Rahman, 2023). Effect size (f²) was used to detect the magnitude of the effect of exogenous variables on endogenous variables in the structural model (Gamil & Abd Rahman, 2023). The f² value of .536 for the direct effect of work attitude on organisational commitment is a ‘large effect’ according to Chin (1998), indicating a highly significant direct effect and high explanatory power of work attitude on organisational commitment. The predictive relevance Q² measures the ability of the model to accurately predict the data values. The Q² value for organisational commitment is .268, which according to Fornell and Cha (1994) is greater than 0, indicating that the model is able to predict it better than random prediction.

This study aimed to identify whether work attitude significantly influences organisational commitment among graduates in Shandong. By testing the path coefficients and the significance, it can be concluded that graduates’ work attitude significantly positively affects organisational commitment. This finding is supported by the theory of planned behaviour, which suggests that when graduates hold positive attitudes toward their work, they are more likely to perceive their work as valuable and meaningful and to derive satisfaction and fulfilment from it. Jerry, Muammar, Indrayani, and Satriawan (2022) found that significant positive effect of work attitude on organisational commitment. Riyanto et al. (2023) similarly proposed that job satisfaction as a dimension of work attitude has a significant effect on employees’ organisational commitment.This positive attitude can make them more engaged in their work, increasing their sense of organisational commitment.

Confucianism, represented by Confucius, has deep historical roots in Shandong, and its value of ‘all things are inferior, only studying is superior’ makes graduates in Shandong pay more attention to education. This concept encourages graduates to have a better work attitude and to learn new knowledge and skills in order to improve their overall quality and competitiveness, and then better serve their organisations. Shandong people attach importance to family and affection, and this traditional custom makes graduates pay more attention to teamwork at work, and they are willing to establish good interpersonal relationships with colleagues and contribute to the development of the organisation together.

IMPLICATION AND CONCLUSION

Key Findings

This study verified the effects of work attitude and organisational commitment of graduates in Shandong through empirical analysis. The study found that work attitude had a significant positive effect on organisational commitment, suggesting that graduates with positive attitudes towards work were also more committed and loyal to their organisations.

Practical Implications

The findings of this study have important practical implications for educational practice, employee training and organisational management. At the educational level, the importance of fostering positive work attitudes in higher education through the addition of vocational behaviour seminars or internships is highlighted, which helps students to better adapt to the workplace and develop positive organisational commitment after graduation. This study could be useful in facilitating the adaptation of national education policies or employment programmes to help improve graduates’ work attitudes. At the organisational management level, the findings suggest that firms should improve work attitudes by enhancing employees’ job satisfaction and engagement through recognising and treating employees better, which in turn enhances employees’ organisational commitment and loyalty, and effectively reduces employee turnover. In addition, organisations can promote the development of employees’ personal capabilities, optimise interpersonal relationships, enhance career satisfaction, and promote organisational culture and innovation. These findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance on how organisations can enhance employees’ work attitudes and thus organisational commitment through human resource management strategies.

Theoretical Contributions

This study examines the impact of work attitudes on organisational commitment, which is an innovative attempt to add a new dimension to the study of antecedent variables of organisational commitment. By comparatively analysing the differences and significance of the effects of these key factors on organisational commitment, it not only provides richer empirical references for organisational behaviour scholars, but also provides valuable theoretical basis for managers to formulate talent retention and motivation strategies, which can help to build a more positive and healthy organisational culture and employee relations.

Recommendations for Future Research

The sample of this study is limited to graduates from Shandong, which may limit the generalisation of the findings to other regions or countries. The data may be subject to response bias or social desirability bias, which may affect the results. The article only examined the impact of work attitudes on organisational commitment and did not explore the mediating role of emotional intelligence. The next step could be to investigate how emotional intelligence specifically moderates the relationship between job attitudes and organisational commitment, which is a good direction for future research. In addition, there should be other potential variables, such as cultural factors, leadership style or job type, in addition to job attitudes influencing organisational commitment, and these research directions are also valuable. This will broaden the scope of future research topics and will also help to enrich the academic discourse.

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