Perceived Organisational Support and Prosocial Behaviour on Workplace Commitment among Nigerian Bank Employees

Onah Caleb¹, Deborah Onah² & Dennis Relojo-Howell^3*

¹Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, Benue State University, Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria
²Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Portharcourt, Choba River State, Nigeria
³Founder of Psychreg, United Kingdom

*Correspondence to: Dennis Relojo-Howell, Founder of Psychreg, United Kingdom. Email: drelojo.howell@gmail.com

Copyright © 2019 Onah Caleb, Deborah Onah & Dennis Relojo-Howell. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Introduction
Organisational commitment which involves the loyalty of employees’ to the organisation, their readiness to put exertion on organisation’s behalf, the level of coincidence of personal goals with the organisation, and an aspiration to continue employment with the organisation [1]. However, there is a disagreement on the definition and the way of measurement of the construct since commitment involves a psychological state (Mathias & Zajac 1990). Further differences stem from the antecedents causing the commitment and by the bahaviours depicting the commitment [2].

The specific objectives of this study are: (1) to determine the influence of perceived organisational support on workplace commitment of bank employees in Makurdi Metropolis; (2) to assess the influence of prosocial behaviour on workplace commitment of bank employees in Makurdi Metropolis; and, (3) to test the joint influence of organisational support and prosocial behaviour on the workplace commitment of bank employees in Makurdi Metropolis.

The following research questions were addressed on this research: (1) to what extent does perceived organisation support of bank employees influence their commitment to their workplace; (2) to what extent does prosocial behaviour predict the workplace commitment of bank employees to their workplace; (3), to what extent will perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour make bank employees to be more committed to their workplace?

Perceived Organisational Support and Organisational Commitment

Numerous studies have demonstrated the effect of perceived organisational support (POS) on organisational commitment. According to the social exchange theory, employees reciprocate what they receive; they reciprocate POS by committing to the organisation [3,4]. Researchers have drawn on this theory to study how perceived organisational support explains the development of affective organisational commitment [5]. According to Coyle-Shapiro., Morrow, Richardson and Dunn (2002) [6], research has consistently proved that organisational policies that treat employees favourably and value their contributions positively affect affective organisational commitment exerted by employees.

The study of prosocial behaviour in organisations can be dated back to Katz and Kahn’s (1966) [7] conceptualisation of spontaneous bahaviours, as engaging in discretionary bahaviours thereby going above and beyond the job requirements. Katz and Kahn (1966) [7] suggested that these spontaneous bahaviours were an essential part of organisational survival and effectiveness. Specifically, prosocial behaviour was examined from three distinct, but related levels of analysis: micro, meso, and macro [8].

Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, and Sowa (1984) [9] found that more an employee perceives the organisation is committed to him; the more he is committed to the organisation. Rhodes and Eisenberger (2002) [5] found that POS decreases turnover intentions and absenteeism, and it increases performance, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment. Organisational support theory postulates that organisational feedback like receiving rewards influences how newcomers perceive and attach to the organisation [5]. Grant, Dutton, and Rosso (2008) found that employee support programs reinforce affective organisational commitment since employees identify company actions as caring. A study conducted by Farndale, Ruiten, Kelliher, and Hope-Hailey (2011) [10] shows those employees who perceive that they have the opportunity to voice their opinions regarding changes and influence decision-making, exhibit high commitment to the organisation.

Prosocial Organisational Behaviour
Research at the micro level of analysis is primarily concerned with the origins of prosocial tendencies in humans (e.g., neural or evolutionary bases) and the aetiology of individual differences in these tendencies. The meso level of analysis refers to studying the behaviours of helper-recipient dyads within the context of a specific situation; helping at this level has been the traditional focus of psychological work on prosocial behaviour [11]. The macro level of analysis focuses on prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organisations (e.g., volunteering, cooperation).

Prosocial organisational behaviour is defined as: ‘behaviour which is performed by a member of an organisation, directed towards an individual, group or organisation with whom he or she interacts while carrying out his or her organisational role, and performed with the intention of promoting the welfare of the individual, group, or organisation toward which it is directed’ [12]. Prosocial behaviour is also defined as proactive and reactive responses to the needs of others that serve to promote the well-being of others.

Methods

Research Design
A cross-sectional survey design was adapted for this study to examine the influence of perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour on workplace commitment among bank employees in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State.

Participants
The participants used in this study were 114 bank employees from selected commercial banks in Makurdi Urban. The banks were United Bank of Africa, Starling Bank, Diamond Bank, Keystone Bank, Access Bank, Unity Bank, Union Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, and Eco Bank. The participants were drawn from different tribes and religion. Their age range was between 20-50 years with a mean age of 35 years.

Sampling
The researcher randomly selected commercial banks in Makurdi Metropolis, using the probability simple random sampling techniques, using the method of shuffling cards.

Procedure
The instruments were administered on the selected participants by the researcher. The data was collected within three weeks. Permission for the study to use the participants was sought from the management of the banks. Informed consents were obtained from the participants before the instruments were administered on them.

Data Analysis
Data’s were analysed using the statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) and hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression for hypothesis one and two, and standard multiple regression for testing for Hypothesis 3.

Hypothesis 1

The result of the table above shows that perceived organisational support has significant influence on the work place commitment of Bank Employees (β = -.096; p < .05). The H1 which says that perceived organisational support will significantly influence employees work place commitment among bank employees is confirmed and therefore accepted.

Hypothesis 2

The result on Table 2 above shows that prosocial behaviour has significant influence on the work place commitment among bank employees (β = -.054; p < .05). This implies that the higher prosocial bank employees receive at work, the more committed they remain to the workplace.

Hypothesis 3

The result on Table 3 above shows that perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour does not jointly have significant influence on work place commitment among bank employees (β= -.096, -.054; p > .05). Jointly, the study variables contributed only 1.2% to the prediction of workplace commitment. Individually, perceived organisational support contributed 9.6% while prosocial behaviour contributed 5.4% to the prediction of workplace commitment. The H3 which says that perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour will jointly influence work place commitment of bank employees is therefore rejected.

Discussion
The influence of perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour on workplace commitment among bank employees was conducted using field data analysis. From the findings of this study, it was concluded The H1 which says that perceived organisational support will significantly influence employees work place commitment among bank employees is confirmed and therefore accepted, In H2 it implies that the higher prosocial bank employees receive at work, the more committed they remain to the workplace, and H3 which says that perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour will jointly influence work place commitment of bank employees is therefore rejected. In H3, it says that perceived organisational support and prosocial behaviour will jointly influence work place commitment. This is not always the case because there are a variety of factors that need to be considered [13].

Conclusion
With regards to the findings of this research work, it was recommended thus: Bank managers should support their employees so that they will be committed to their work place, efforts to make social-emotional learning an integral part of early education are more grounded in policy and practice than ever before should be noted [14].

Acts of prosocial behaviour should be encouraged among bank employees, in order to ensure that prosocial education efforts meet their potential, schools and universities need evidence-based directions for selecting and implementing practices and programs that have a demonstrated track record of effectiveness. Companies should easily add fun incentives for employees to participate like donation matching, internal competitions and goal setting, also, Health Insurance targets that plan members that are predisposed to health problems and should be encourages for them to make positive changes in their own lives. This includes such behaviour changes as eating better or getting more sleep. The tool provides reliable information about many of the most common health issues all in one location and offers trackers to help individuals develop goals in their personal health journeys. Points and rewards are given out for good behaviours.

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