Pre-and Post-Termination Organizational Commitment and the Effects of Leaving

There is a paucity of research examining the attitudes of employees toward their employer after termination. We argue that post-termination organizational commitment by employees (in the form of affective commitment and organizational endorsement) is affected by the past actions of the organization, specifically those associated with the process of termination. This suggests that organizations have the ability to shape the attitudes that former employees have toward the company. In examining a sample of 171 former employees of a large manufacturing organization who left for a range of reasons, we found that post-termination commitment was predicted by organizational commitment while employed, perception of procedural justice in the layoff process, palatability of the reason for leaving, and personal ownership of the decision to leave. Preand Post-Termination 3 Preand Post-Termination Organizational Commitment and the Effects of the Manner of Leaving While the attitudes of layoff survivors toward their employer have been investigated (Grunberg, Anderson-Connolly, & Greenberg, 2000), there is a paucity of research examining the work attitudes of employees after termination. The few studies that have been conducted focus primarily on layoff victims (Brockner, et al., 1994; Wanberg, Bunce, & Gavin, 1999) rather than those who have left voluntarily. Moreover, no research attention has been focussed on the effects of the palatability of the reason for leaving and the ownership of the decision to leave. Palatability refers to the favorable or unfavorable evaluation that an individual has of the reason for leaving. Ownership refers to the feeling of having power and control in the decision-making around leaving. This study seeks to address this gap and also to contribute to work termination psychology by studying a unique sample: a group of employees who have left the organization in both voluntary and involuntary terminations. While the literature on work has used the word termination in relation to involuntary separations, such as layoffs, we believe that the word is descriptive of all employment endings, whether voluntary or involuntary. We will examine continued commitment to the company after termination and the factors that affect such attitudes. We believe that experiences during the period of employment, as well as experiences during the termination process play a decisive role in determining posttermination attitude. Employers therefore have an important opportunity to influence how former employees feel about them. There are a number of reasons for why post-termination attitudes are important to study. First, in order to mitigate the risk of workplace violence, it is desirable to minimize the likelihood of strong negative emotions toward the company. Job termination has been associated with workplace violence (Karl & Hancock, 1999) and layoff Preand Post-Termination 4 victims who perceive the layoff procedure as unfair display more anger at the time of the layoff (Bennett, Martin, Bies, & Brockner, 1995). Second, the general welfare may be served if we can learn more about the relationship between the likelihood of filing lawsuits and company behavior during terminations. There is evidence that negative affect toward the organization and the perception that termination procedures are unfair is associated with a greater tendency for former employees to files suits (Wanberg, Bunce & Gavin, 1999). The evidence suggests that fair procedures is the most important factor in determining likelihood of bringing suit, and that interpersonal treatment by managers may also play a significant role (Bies & Tyler, 1993). Third, knowing what factors contribute to a willingness to endorse the organization by former employees can help organizations promote favorable wordof-mouth recommendations and thus enhance their ability to recruit new employees as the need arises. It is important when hiring that companies have an enthusiastic labor pool available; a large body of disgruntled former workers may have a negative impact on hiring prospects. Fourth, assessment of post-termination attitudes of former employees may help the broader community gain insights into the standing of the organization as a good corporate citizen. Termination practices, and the handling of layoffs in particular, are two of many indicators of good corporate citizenship (see discussion in Maignan, Ferrell, & Hult, 1999), and former employee attitude toward the company is an important, albeit partial, measure of the organizations performance as a socially responsible employer. Post-termination attitudes may provide a gauge of the success of labor practices that might encourage social investors who are concerned about the ethical behavior of organizations and choose to invest in organizations that have socially responsible business practices (see discussion in McMahon, 1999). Shareholder advocacy of socially responsible business behavior is on the increase and many socially Preand Post-Termination 5 responsible portfolios are screened for responsible labor practices (Social Investment Forum, 1999). Whether organizations can affect post-termination outlooks through strengthening commitment during employment and ensuring fair and interpersonally sensitive termination practices is the focus of the present study. While it appears logical that this would be the case, there is no empirical support for this assertion in the literature. Thus, the goal of this study is to contribute to the literature on the work attitudes of former employees. In particular, this study seeks to make a new contribution by examining the palatability to the employee of the reason for leaving the organization and the employees ownership of the decision to leave. Additionally, this study will contribute to the growing literature on procedural justice by examining a population that has attracted very little research attention: a sample of those who have left their employer for a range of reasons. The study is based on a two-wave longitudinal panel that examines the extent to which organizational commitment while employed is related to two subsequent post-termination outcomes: affective commitment to the organization and willingness to endorse the organization. We will also examine whether the outcomes are influenced by the reason for termination, the degree of termination decision ownership, and employees sense of procedural justice. DROP THESE NEXT TWO SENTENCES: Interaction effects will also be tested. Insight in these areas may enable organizations to be more effective in maintaining positive affect toward the organization among former employees, and subsequently support positive behavior toward the organization. Preand Post-Termination 6 Literature Review and Hypotheses In the following sections, we examine the literature on commitment, endorsement of the organization, procedural justice and termination reasons and decision ownership. In particular, we examine factors affecting organizational commitment while employed, and how they relate to post-termination organizational commitment and endorsement. The literature is used to build the conceptual model shown in Figure 1. Organizational Commitment Pre-termination organizational commitment. Social exchange theory posits that employees are willing to exchange loyalty for support in their interactions with employers (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986; Hutchison, 1997). Therefore, how individuals are treated while they are employed affects their attitude and commitment toward their employer. The employee/employer reciprocal exchange relationship is built on the exchange of good treatment for positive attitude. Consequently, the employer has the power to influence that relationship through its behavior. Organizational commitment covers a range of attitudinal and behavioral responses about the organization and is sometimes described simply as loyalty. It is helpful to regard commitment as multi-dimensional and note the two types of commitment that dominate recent literature in this area: affective or attitudinal commitment (emotional attachment to the organization), and continuance commitment (typically behavioral; involves commitment to remaining with the organization) (Zeffane, 1994). Commitment to the organization while employed is, in part, a function of the treatment that individuals receive from their employer. Organizational commitment is very strongly associated with perceived organizational support (Hutchison, Valentino & Kirkner, 1998) and Preand Post-Termination 7 job satisfaction and job scope (Fullagar & Barling, 1991; Cohen, 1999; Fukami & Larson, 1984), factors the organization can also control. Employees who perceive that the organization is responsible for facilitating a positive experience tend to reciprocate with high affective commitment (Cohen, 1999). Thus, the actions of the organization can influence employee feelings of commitment while employed. However, we do not know whether this feeling can be maintained beyond termination. Post-termination organizational commitment and endorsement. While measurement of organizational commitment of current employees has been motivated by its relationship to work outcomes (Cohen, 1999), post-termination measurement is also useful for the reasons outlined earlier. We posit that measurement of commitment after termination provides a gauge of the positive, neutral or negative affect toward the terminating organization and as such, provides information useful in evaluating the actions of the company before and during termination. Using exchange theory, there is no reason for organizational commitment to drop significantly unless the organization has behaved in a fashion that is not acceptable to the employee. While commitment may slide slowly over time as the relationship to the former employer becomes more distant, we speculate that commitment does not simply vanis