Investing yourself in the job

By JULIE MIDDLETON

By the time you get to these words, you will already have looked at the graphic above - and slotted yourself in somewhere.

Research has pinned down the factors that forge commitment to a job: dedication and willingness to engage.

It is not only interesting psychology - admit it, you love all this self-testing stuff - but gives employers clues on action they can take to boost staff commitment.

"Everyone falls into one of four groups, and there will be some who are deeply in some groups and some borderline," says Jonathan Dodd, marketing manager for Research Solutions. The company undertook the New Zealand leg of the Global Employment Commitment Report, from which this information is derived.

But why measure employee commitment anyway? Because the committed are a company's greatest asset, says Dodd.

"They really feel a passion for their work and want to do their best."

At the opposite end of the scale, he says, the uncommitted can be disruptive, sabotaging customer relationships and profits.

If employers understand staff better, they can take practical steps to increase commitment.

But committed does not necessarily mean satisfied, warns Dodd. It is often paradoxical: someone does not have to be happy or satisfied in his or her work to still be committed to doing it.

For example, he says, teachers may heartily dislike their workload, pay and conditions, but will stay put if they believe in what they do.

The study of 19,840 full-time staff in 33 countries was carried out from last April and co-ordinated by South African research firm Customer Equity Company.

Among the countries covered were all the economic biggies - the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Japan among them - as well as nations such as Australia, Sweden, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Estonia.

In New Zealand, Research Solutions carried out 133 interviews.

Israel, the Netherlands and New Zealand were found to have the highest overall employee commitment.

Bulgaria, Japan and Korea scored the lowest.

New Zealanders are more likely than workers elsewhere to be "ambassadors" who like their work and employer.

Dodd says this is probably linked to our more relaxed workplace culture, and a smaller job market with fewer temptations - or options - for workers.

Commitment increases with age, as people move up a corporate hierarchy, and the longer someone stays with a company.

Greater commitment is linked to working for a national or multinational company.

Dodd says these findings are interlinked: experience and tenure lead to a higher salary, more autonomy and a greater feeling of being "at home".

Men are also found to be slightly more committed than women, which Dodd attributes to men in Western society being more likely to intertwine their identity and self-worth with their job.

The psychological model that underpins the study has a fascinating history. Called the "conversion model", it was developed in the mid-1980s by South African theologian Jan Hofmeyr, a religious studies lecturer at the University of Cape Town, to explain why people convert from one religion to another.

It has been adopted enthusiastically by market researchers.

Dodd says the model measures four factors that "combine to make a person totally committed to a brand or a product or a way of life - or anything where they have to make a decision".

Those factors are:

* The importance of the job and the company.

* The attraction of alternatives.

* A person's satisfaction with the job and company.

* Any ambivalence that might be lurking.

A company such as Research Solutions tends to be called in to do a survey - costing $5000 to $15,000 - when staff relations are going badly, which is why, says Dodd, New Zealand companies who have used them are not about to put their hands up to the Weekend Herald.

But results can confound expectations. Research Solutions director Debra Hall recounts a survey where employers expected a drop in commitment from staff whose company had been swallowed in a takeover.

But the change had been handled well and staff transferred their commitment to the new entity.

The career-oriented person, says Dodd, is often in middle management and is more likely to be in an environment driven by self-development, "which is why the United States has a high proportion of career-oriented people".

"They work really hard, are more likely to be male, and are in it for themselves. They may come in [to a company] for a couple of years because it looks good on the CV."

Recognising yourself as career-oriented is not a negative thing, says Dodd.

"Some industries tend to see switching around to build your career as the norm - like some professional industries, or advertising. But in a small market like New Zealand you might run out of opportunities."

If you are the employer of a career-oriented staffer, Dodd warns that "they don't buy into the company, and don't see chances to grow in their current company, only outside".

So give them more chances to further their career within the firm.

Ambassadors "not only love their company, they love their job and are good team workers," says Dodd.

"They're not easily disaffected. If they really love the company - and this is a key thing when measuring commitment, and it's emotional, not just satisfaction - they will often put up with unsatisfactory things because ... they are in love with the big picture."

If you are an ambassador, congratulations, says Dodd.

If you are the employer of an ambassador, "make sure you don't destroy a good asset".

"If those people are in sales roles or customer-facing roles, it's even better. If they're not, you might want to consider having them do that.

"Work out why they are so good and use that learning to make other non-ambassadors come into that fold."

The uncommitted "hate their job and don't really like the company - they are there for the pay and pretty much resent it", Dodd says.

"Of all the labourers researched, 48 per cent were uncommitted. It's not the ideal job and they don't feel a big deal about the company.

"Trouble is, these are the people who just don't care ... In one study we did in New Zealand, we categorised this group as terrorists because they were actively disrupting."

If you are uncommitted, "consider a job change".

But if you manage people in low-skill roles, says Dodd, you may have difficulty making staff feel they are on a passionate career course.

"Look at the aspects: Are they dissatisfied? Do they feel there are many other alternatives they can go for?

"Try to make staying with you look attractive. Work out what's making them look elsewhere, and make them realise they are appreciated and their job's important."

"We talk about ditch-diggers as a cliche of a low-income job but ditches and good waterways are incredibly important. Make people feel - but it can't be lip service."

The company-oriented, says Dodd, "can be called martyrs. These are the people who moan about their jobs - but say the company is a good one to work for".

Examples may include teachers, nurses and rural doctors who think their pay is poor and the hours long, but see what they do as for the greater good.

Others might be in social services or information services, finance and insurance.

"If you are doing accountancy or insurance sales, there may not be much to separate one job from the other - except the company."

If you are company-oriented, "try changing your job within the company or look for other things to enhance your job".

"Try to get more responsibility, and chase internal appointments.

"Make it known that you really love the company and want to stay, but need some form of development."

If you employ a company-oriented staffer, find ways to make that person feel better about his or her job. "It might be a case of wrong job, right company."