Workplace spirituality, perceived organizational support and organizational commitment in the Malaysian public universities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between perceived organizational support, workplace spirituality and organizational commitment of the academic staffs of selected public universities in Malaysia. This study also probed the level and the differences of perceived organizational support, workplace spirituality and organizational commitment based on the demographic factors. A sample of 204 academic staffs from selected public universities in Malaysia participated in the study. Statistical analysis used in the study included descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal- Wallis test and correlation. The findings revealed that generally the respondents rated the perceived organizational support, workplace spirituality, affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment as above average. From this study, it was concluded that the perceived organizational support and workplace spirituality had the highest impact on the academic staffs’ affective commitment. In contrast, the study also revealed that both perceived organizational support and workplace spirituality had minimal impact on their continuance commitment. In terms of theoretical and implication for research, the findings related to the relationship of perceived organizational support and organizational commitment had been consistent with the social exchange process and the organizational support theory. The results also supported the multidimensional definition of organizational commitment. In terms of practical implications, the findings of this study indicated that workplace spirituality and perceived organizational support seemed to influence the affective and normative commitment. Thus, these findings will have impact on the human resource practices in the universities. It will also add to new dimensions and approach in terms of recruitment, training, and performance evaluation of the academic staffs.