The Impact of Job Satisfaction on Employees’ Organizational Commitment in Local Councils in the Maldives

This study examines the impact of job satisfaction on employees’ organizational commitment within the local councils of the Maldives. The research was motivated by the critical role of satisfied and committed staff in delivering effective public services, especially in small island developing states facing unique human resource challenges. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was employed, collecting data from local council employees using a structured questionnaire. Statistical analyses (including correlation and regression) were conducted to evaluate the relationship between job satisfaction (the independent variable) and organizational commitment (the dependent variable). Guided by Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Meyer and Allen’s Three-Component Model, the conceptual framework posited that higher job satisfaction – driven by both intrinsic motivators and extrinsic hygiene factors – would lead to stronger organizational commitment (affective, continuance, and normative). The findings supported this expectation: job satisfaction was positively and significantly associated with organizational commitment. However, the effect size was modest, indicating that while greater job satisfaction tends to boost commitment, other factors also contribute to employees’ commitment levels. These results underscore the importance of enhancing both the intrinsic aspects of work (e.g. recognition, meaningful tasks) and extrinsic conditions (e.g. fair pay, job security) to foster a more committed local government workforce. The study offers empirical evidence in the Maldivian context, filling a gap in the literature on public sector employees in small island settings. It also provides practical implications for policymakers and local council management, suggesting that initiatives to improve employee job satisfaction can strengthen organizational commitment, thereby potentially improving retention, performance, and service delivery at the grassroots level.

Job satisfaction, Employee commitment, Local Councils, Maldives

1. Abbas, Z., Ansari, J., Gulzar, S., Zameer, U., & Hussain, K. (2021). The role of workload, nepotism, job satisfaction, and organizational politics on turnover intention: A conservation of resources perspective. Organizacija, 54(3), 238–251. https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/orga-2021-0016 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2020). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice (15th ed.). Kogan Page. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Asamani, L., Acquah-Coleman, R., Senayah, W. K., & Oppong, S. (2025). Interactive roles of resource availability, role clarity and employee motivation in enhancing organisational effectiveness through employee performance and job satisfaction. Discover Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00333-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Aunin, J., Lüde, P., Sander, I., Vogel, R., & Wiesner, J. (2024). Perceived ethical leadership and follower outcomes in the public sector: the moderating effect of followers’ need for autonomy. Public Performance & Management Review, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2359570 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Azim, A. (2023). National to local governance in the Maldives: The SIDS context [Conference presentation]. United Nations Office for Sustainable Development. https://unosd.un.org/sites/unosd.un.org/files/session_5.3_mr._adam_azim_male_city_mal dives.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Aziz, H. M., Othman, B. J., Gardi, B., Ahmed, S. A., Sabir, B. Y., Ismael, N. B., & Anwar, [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. G. (2021). Employee commitment: The relationship between employee commitment and job satisfaction. Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED), 3(3), 13. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3851329 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Basalamah, M. S., & As’ad, A. (2021). The role of work motivation and work environment in improving job satisfaction. Golden Ratio of Human Resource Management, 1(1), Article https://goldenratio.id/index.php/grhrm/article/view/54/59 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. BMC Health Services Research. (2025a, July 8). BioMed Central. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Caoagdan, A. O., Millalos, J. D., Grino, R. H., Vigonte, F., & Abante, M. V. (2023). Job satisfaction and motivation: A comparative analysis within the sphere of public and private administrative domains. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4628371 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Chin, T. L., & Leow, H. W. (2022). Public servants’ job satisfaction during the time of COVID-19 in Maldives. Journal of Tianjin University Science and Technology, 55(6), 102–113. https://tianjindaxuexuebao.com/dashboard/uploads/4.GN8PS.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Chittoo, D. H. (2011). Public administration in “Small and Island Developing States”: A debate about implications of smallness. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 11(9), 23–34. https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume11/5-Public- Administration-in-small-and-strategic.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Ćulibrk, J., Delić, M., Mitrović, S., & Ćulibrk, D. (2018). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job involvement: The mediating role of job involvement. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 132. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00132/full [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Economics and Finance Research | IDEAS/REPEC. (n.d.-a). https://ideas.repec.org/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. ERIC - Education Resources Information Center. (n.d.). https://files.eric.ed.gov/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Everest-Phillips, M. (2014). Small, so simple? Complexity in small island developing states. UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence. https://www.undp.org/ sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/GPCSE_Complexity%20 in%20Small%20Island.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Godbersen, H., Dudek, B., & Fernández, S. R. (2024). The relationship between organizational commitment, commitment to supervisor and servant leadership. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, 2, Article 1353959. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2024.1353959 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Ki, N., & Kim, G. J. (2024). Why public service motivated government employees experience varying job satisfaction levels across countries: A meta-analysis emphasizing [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. cultural dimensions. Public Performance & Management Review, 47(3), 1014–1045. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15309576.2024.2354891 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Lee, B., Lee, C., Choi, I., & Kim, J. (2022). Analyzing determinants of job satisfaction based on Herzberg’s theory. Sustainability, 14(19), Article 12557. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/12557 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Lee, M., & Kim, B. (2023). Effect of employee experience on organizational commitment. Behavioral Sciences, 13(8), Article 521. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10376664/pdf/behavsci-13-00521.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Maydiantoro, A., Ridwan, Tusianah, R., Isnainy, U. C., Puja Kesuma, T. A., Zainaro, M., & Nurmalisa, Y. (2021). A literature review of the three elements of organizational commitment: The meaning of the contribution score average. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 18, 679–689. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Memon, M. A., Ting, H., Cheah, J.-H., Thurasamy, R., Chuah, F., & Cham, T. H. (2020). Sample size for survey research: Review and recommendations. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling, 4(2), 1–20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Miah, T., & Hasan, J. (2022). Impact of Herzberg Two-Factor Theory on teachers’ job satisfaction: An implication to the private universities of Bangladesh. International Journal of Business and Management Research, 10(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.37391/ijbmr.100101 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Mngomezulu, S. (2020). Political interference in the administration of service delivery in UMLALAZI Local Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 12(1), Article 3003. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v12i1.3003 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Morais, C., Queirós, F., Couto, S., Gomes, A. R., & Simães, C. (2024). Explaining organizational commitment and job satisfaction: The role of leadership and seniority. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599- 024-03855-z [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Muñoz-Fernández, G. A., Toala-Mendoza, R. D., González-Mohíno, M., & Félix-López, [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. M. E. (2025). Unveiling the nexus of teacher commitment and job satisfaction: Insights from Ecuador's educational landscape. BMC Psychology, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02471-z [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. MV+ News Desk. (2024). Transparency Maldives condemns LGA’s interference in council statement. https://www.plus.mv/english/transparency-maldives-condemns-lgas- interference-in-council-statement [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. MV+. (n.d.). MV+ | Covering the deeper issues and untold stories shaping Maldives. https://plus.mv/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. OECD. (2020). Decentralisation and regionalisation: Trends in OECD countries. https://transparency.mv/v16/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LGA-Assessment-2020-.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Pehlivanoğlu, M., Eymür, E., & Civelek, M. E. (2022). The relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment in female employees. Journal of Applied and Theoretical Social Sciences, 4(2), 406–422. https://doi.org/10.37241/jatss.2022.74 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. PLOS. (2025, April 22). Leading the future of open science publishing - PLOS. https://journals.plos.org/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Rasheed, A. (2020). The decentralization initiatives in the Maldives: Recent developments [Presentation slides]. Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development, Maldives. https://unosd.un.org/sites/unosd.un.org/files/session_5.2_mr._ali_rasheed_ministry_of_h ousing_land_and_urban_development_maldives.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Riyanto, S., Handiman, U. T., Gultom, M., Gunawan, A., Budiyanto, H., & Putra, J. M. (2023). Increasing job satisfaction, organizational commitment and the requirement for competence and training. Emerging Science Journal, 7(2), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-02-016 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. (2023, March 10). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. https://sjwop.com/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Shah, G. Z. (2023). The impact of job satisfaction on employees' organizational commitment in state-owned enterprises. Siam University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Springbrook Software. (2023). Addressing staffing shortages in local government [Blog post]. https://springbrooksoftware.com/addressing-staffing-shortages-in-local- government [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Thashkeel, A. (2022). Saving decentralisation from the decentralists. Maldives Financial Review. https://mfr.mv/reports/saving-decentralisation-from-the-decentralists [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Todorovic, D., Mitic, P. M., Stojiljkovic´, N., Olanescu, M., Suciu, A., & Popa, D. (2024). Organizational commitment in the private and public sectors: A regression analysis based on personality traits, subjective wellbeing, organizational orientations, and perceived employment uncertainty in Serbia. Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1442990/ful l [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Transparency Maldives. (2020). Assessment of the Local Government Authority and decentralization framework. https://transparency.mv/v16/wp- content/uploads/2020/09/LGA-Assessment- 2020-.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. UNICEF. (2013). Study on the decentralization process in the Maldives. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/maldives/media/256/file/Study%20on%20the%20Decentralizatio n%20Process%20in%20the%20Maldives.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Wang, X., Li, C., Chen, Y., Zheng, C., Zhang, F., Huang, Y., & Birch, S. (2022). Relationships between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, burnout and job performance of healthcare professionals in a Chinese health care system. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992258 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Yanti, Simanjuntak, M. R., & Sulistio, H. (2024). Professional construction workforce commitment model in maintaining project performance in East Kalimantan. ESICULTURE, 12. https://doi.org/10.70082/esiculture.vi.706 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Zychová, K., Fejfarová, M., & Jindrová, A. (2024). Job autonomy as a driver of job satisfaction. Central European Business Review, 2, 117–140. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.cebr.347 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar