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Employability and Temporary Workers’ Affective Commitment: the Moderating Role of Voluntariness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2013

Mafalda Espada  and
Maria José Chambel
Mafalda Espada
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Maria José Chambel*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Maria José Chambel. Faculdade de Psicologia da Universidade de Lisboa. Alameda da Universidade. 1649–013. Lisboa (Portugal). E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The development of either internal or external employability of temporary workers has been considered a mechanism of protection since it ensures that employment can be maintained. According to the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, when temporary workers perceive that the training promoted by the organization furthers employability, they are inclined to feel obligated to reciprocate with positive attitudes toward the organization. With a sample of temporary agency workers from three distinct industry organizations (N = 279), the current study investigated the relationship between training that promotes both internal and external employability and affective commitment as well as the role of voluntariness as a moderator of these relationships. The hypotheses were tested by using regression analysis. The results indicated that the perception held by temporary workers that the training they received is a promoter of their internal employability is positively correlated with their affective commitment towards the organization. Furthermore, the data revealed that this relationship is weaker for the group of temporary workers with high voluntariness. On the other hand, there was not a significant relationship between the training that promotes external employability and the affective commitment of temporary workers. Likewise, voluntariness did not moderate this relationship.

Keywords

affective commitmentemployabilitytemporary workerstrainingvoluntariness
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E108
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

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