Organizational commitment and trust at work by remote employees

Abstract

This paper examines and analyzes the differences in organizational commitment and trust at work among conventionally employed and remote employees. Two additional control variables are introduced into the research: Gender and Age of the respondents. The survey included 265 respondents employed in organizations in Serbia (88.3%) and surrounding countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia). Remote employees show stronger organizational commitment and trust at work than conventional employees. This applies to the following four dimensions: organizational identification, faith in intentions of peers, confidence in actions of peers and confidence in actions of management. At the same time, the overall sample shows that the degree of engagement at work, as well as the degree of loyalty to the organization, does not depend on the way they work (conventionally or remotely). However, male teleworkers have a very low level of organizational loyalty and it will not be a problem for them to leave their current job if they are offered a better position at another organization. Older teleworkers exhibit statistically significantly greater confidence in management intentions than younger teleworkers. Leaders and managers in conventional organizations should be aware of the potential for employees to experience a decline in organizational identification and confidence in peers and managers. Organizations practicing teleworking must make sure that male teleworkers have low organizational loyalty and can easily leave their current job.