Career Experiences, Perceptions of Employment Practices, and Psychological Commitment to the Organization

Abstract

The relationships among career experiences, perceptions of company employment practices, and psychological commitment to the firm are explored in this paper. Psychological commitment is defined as non-instrumental attraction to and identification with the goals and values of the organization, excluding propensity to stay in the organization. Results show that employee perceptions of the organization's adherence to career-oriented employment practices, including internal mobility, employment security, and training and development, are more strongly related to psychological commitment than other characteristics of the work context, including participation, supervisory relations, and instrumental communication. Results are discussed in terms of internal labor market employment practices.