INDENTIFICATION AND OVERCOMMITMENT IN THE HOSPITAL CONTEXT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN A SPANISH SAMPLE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

The purpose of this study was to check whether the overcommitment, included in the Theoretical Model of Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI), moderated the relationship between the ERI and the organizational identification in a sample of Spanish health professionals. Furthermore, we also wanted to check if this effect varied depending on the professional category (doctors vs. nurses) and age. A sample of 623 subjects participated in the study, 164 were doctors and 459 were nursing professionals. Both samples answered a set of questions related to the imbalance between effort and received rewards (ERI), the overcommitment (intrinsic component of the ERI model), and the organizational identification. The results revealed that the effect of effort-reward imbalance on organizational identification was statistically significant in professionals with medium-high overcommitment (β = 0.22, p < 0.01; β = 0.39, p < 0.01). In the case of people with low overcommitment, this effect was not significant. These results suggest that when an imbalance between the efforts and rewards received in the organization occurred, the most overcommitment healthcare professionals identify more with the organization than those who are less committed. In addition, the relationship to age is negative and significant only for the group of nurses (β = -0.012, p < 0.01). More specifically, older nurses, were less identified with the organization. Despite the limitations, this study can contribute to a better understanding of the moderating role of overcommitment and its indirect effects on organizational identification, depending on chronological age, as well as guide possible interventions in the light of these influences.