The Role of Organizational Commitment in Occupational Stress Models

Abstract

This study examined affective organizational commitment (AOC) and con- tinuance organizational commitment (COC) as moderators of the relation- ship between job-related anxiety and intention to leave among 506 Israeli nurses who completed self-administered surveys. Prior research examining organizational commitment as a moderator between stress-related variables has shown inconsistent results, most probably because organizational com- mitment was tested as a moderator of stressor-strain relationships. Both AOC and COC buffered the relationship between job-related anxiety and intention to leave the hospital (i.e., the positive relationship was not as strong with high levels of commitment). There was no buffering effect on the relationship between role stressors and intention to leave. Further, the relationship between job-related anxiety and intention to leave increased more strongly for low levels (vs. high levels) of COC. Implications for the role of organizational commitment in stress models and implications for hospital administrators are discussed.