Three components of organizational commitment and job satisfaction of hospital nurses in Iran

To measure the relationship between job satisfaction and the 3 components of organizational commitment.

Most of the research conducted in the West has shown a positive relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction of nurses; however, the relationship between the components of organizational commitment and job satisfaction is not well established in Iranian samples. This study aimed to investigate the level of organizational commitment and job satisfaction of the hospital nurses in Iran and the interrelationship between the 3 components of commitment and job satisfaction among them.

Using the organizational commitment questionnaire developed by Meyer et al (J Appl Psychol. 1993;78:538-551), the 3 components of commitment were measured through a descriptive correlational design. Seven hundred eighty-six licensed nurses working in 12 hospitals participated in the study. One hundred ninety-eight of 220 returned questionnaires were identified as appropriate for the analysis.

Affective commitment was positively related to job satisfaction, normative commitment, and experience in nursing, but it was negatively related to continuance commitment. Continuance commitment was negatively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment. Normative commitment was positively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment.

The 3 components of commitment are variously related to job satisfaction. Nursing managers should pay attention to different components of commitment variously to promote the appropriate type of commitment needed for specific situation in which they work.