According to the U.S. department of labor there is a generational shift happening in the workplace. Four going on five generations are working together now, but how committed are they to their jobs? What does workplace commitment mean? More importantly how do you retain and promote this diverse population of workers?
It is costing companies thousands of dollars to hire and train employees these days. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to pinpoint a precise amount of money it takes to hire a new employee, however, there are some general guidelines to make an educated guess.
- As stated in a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, hiring an employee in a company with 0-500 people costs an average of $7,645.
- Another study by the Society for Human Resource Management states that the average cost to hire an employee is $4,129, with around 42 days to fill a position.
- According to Glassdoor, the average company in the United States spends about $4,000 to hire a new employee, taking up to 52 days to fill a position.
If you’re replacing someone instead of filling a new position, stakes get even higher. Another research by SHRM states that it takes up to 50-60% of an employee’s annual salary to find a direct replacement. Turnover can be quite costly, summing up to a total of 90-200% of an employee’s annual salary.
Therefore the need to understand employee commitment is very important for organizations to understand. For decades employers have sought to truly understand commitment in the workplace. One of the early theories that really brought this field into focus was called the “Side Bet Theory” from H.S. Becker in the 1960’s. He explained that an individual may initially stay with the organization even when they are stressed; however, if another opportunity comes along, they will weigh on their personal needs and leave their current place of employment. Looking at trying to measure what keeps employees committed there was a survey created called the TCM Commitment Model and this survey measured three areas of employee commitment.
Components of Organizational Commitment
Component |
Source of Commitment |
Motivation to Remain in Job |
Affective |
Affective commitment is the employees’ emotional attachment to an organization and its activities. | Employees stay in the organization because they want to. |
Normative |
Normative commitment results from exterior pressure on employees. Forces such as personal values or a sense of obligation contribute to normative commitment. | Employees stay in the organization because they feel it is the right thing to do. |
Continuance |
Continuance commitment reflects the cost of leaving a job. If employees perceive that leaving would exact a greater cost than staying, they remain because of continuance commitment. | Employees stay in the organization because they feel they have no other employment options open to them. |
So when it comes to the current generations working in the workplace below are some of the motivators that keep them committed at work. Understand you must be flexible when managing multiple generations and the key is to treat each of them as an individual and not as a category. Each generation wants the same thing a culture of respect and to feel valued and appreciated for their skills and efforts. There is no one size fits all approach and one of the number one reasons people leave jobs is still because of people and how the culture manages others.
Traditionalist |
Baby Boomers |
Strengths and experiences
|
Challenging job
|
Gen X |
Millenials |
Time is important
|
Boss they can respect
|
