The Role of Employees’ Public Service Motives and Organizational Commitment in Workplace Giving Campaigns

Abstract

Workplace giving campaigns, like the Combined Federal Campaign, have increased in participation and prominence in recent years. Organizations across all sectors of society frequently encourage employees to voluntarily donate either directly or through payroll deduction. In the nascent research on workplace giving, there has been relatively little focus on how employee attributes, especially motivational and organizational commitment traits, might be related to voluntary participation in workplace giving campaigns. In our article, we explore the role of these factors in an employee’s decision to participate in workplace giving campaigns. Using data from a large, public university, we examine two distinct aspects of participation: (a) the decision to participate in a workplace giving campaign and (b) how much those who participated chose to give. Our analyses demonstrate that these decisions reflect two motivational processes that must be considered in examining the determinants of individual workplace giving behavior. Answering these questions will help deepen our understanding of employee workplace giving in its increasing prominence as a tool of social partnership.