Organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour : the mediating role of job insecurity among contract employees at selected Gauteng Provincial Government

Abstract

The increasing dissatisfaction with poor service delivery in South Africa means that the public sector requires committed employees who feel they are part of the organisation to render quality services to the public. In recent years, as part of austerity measures to address budget deficits, government departments have utilised contract workers. However, these contract workers are susceptible to job insecurity as such, may display less organisational citizenship behaviour and commitment. For this reason, this study investigated the relationship between organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour among contract workers in the Gauteng provincial government. The mediating effect of job insecurity on the relationship between organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour was also investigated. Quantitative data were collected from 180 respondents through stratified random sampling using a self-administered questionnaire. The study population comprised of lower management, middle management and top management employees from selected Gauteng provincial government departments. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis using the IBM-Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. The results revealed that organisational commitment relates positively to organisational citizenship behaviour. However, this relationship cannot be explained by job insecurity. Further, the results also revealed that job insecurity is inversely related to organisational commitment. Enhancing job security is recommended for improving organisational commitment and service delivery in the public sector.