Enhancing Engagement through Job Resources: The Moderating Role of Affective Commitment

Research has shown that affective commitment, one of three components of organizational commitment defined by Meyer and Allen (1991), can act as a moderator in relationships between job stressors and worker´s psychological tension. However, due to the scarcity of studies that investigate the moderating effect of this commitment component on relationships between positive variables, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of affective commitment in the relationship between autonomy, peer support, supervisory support and perceived organizational support (POS), as job resources, on engagement. In this sense, we analyzed the data provided by a sample of Portuguese employees (N = 554), from an organization belonging to the consultancy sector. Firstly, we aimed to examine the direct effects of those job resources on engagement, and, then, examine the impact of affective commitment as a moderator on these relationships. The results partially support the hypotheses formulated. Indeed, there was a positive relationship between the job resources studied - work autonomy, peer support, supervisory support and POS - and engagement. Furthermore, according to our hypothesis, the interaction established between affective commitment and autonomy, significantly exacerbates the positive effect of this job resource on workers well-being, that is, on their engagement (b = .08, p < .05). However, contrary to our hypothesis, the affective commitment does not moderate the relationship between the other job resources and engagement. This study contributes to a deepest knowledge about the potentialities of affective commitment, reinforcing the importance of consider it as a contextual resource.