JOB SECURITY AND JOB SATISFACTION AS DETERMINANTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out the extent to which job security and job satisfaction predicted organizational commitment of university teachers in Cross River State, Nigeria. The relative contribution of each of the two independent variables to the prediction was also investigated. A survey design was adopted and the study sample consisted of 290 lecturers selected from 2 universities using purposive sampling technique. Two hypotheses guided the study. Instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and t-test. The result of the study revealed that both job security and job satisfaction jointly had a significant effect (F = 9.87; P< .05) on organizational commitment of university teachers. There was also a significant correlation between the joint predictor variables and organizational commitment (R = 0.593; P<.05). Job satisfaction was a more potent predictor of organizational commitment (t = 3.38; P < .05) than job security ( t = 2.75; P < .05). The two independent variables made significant relative contributions to the determinacy of organizational commitment of university teachers. Premised on these findings it was recommended that the government and university management should improve upon existing motivational strategies to ensure job satisfaction of academic staff in order to enhance their commitment. Actions of government and university authority that would lead to threats of job security among academic staff should be avoided as this could jeopardize their sense of commitment.