The Measurement of Commitment to Work

A methodological study using conjoint measurement analysis to determine whether there is an appropriate model for measuring commitment to work in the job-family trade-off context was conducted with 213 University of Michigan students and staff as subjects. The results indicate that there are two important dimensions that can be measured: a preference for a level of involvement in the total workchild domain and a preference for a job vs. child orientation. Based on the unfolding theory of preferential choice, a scale for each dimension was developed. The Total Involvement Level Scale places respondent s on a continuum from a preference for least (I L 1) to most (I L 7) involvement; the Job vs. Child Orientation Scale ranges from greatest job orientation or commitment (JC 1) to greatest child orientation 0C 7). A field test has indicated the feasibility of the scales for use in empirical research, and protocols for easy use in large surveys are presented.