Organizational Commitment in Estonian University Libraries: A Review and Survey

Abstract

The data used in this article is based on the reviewing of relevant literature to provide an overview of the concepts of organizational commitment, job security, and interpersonal relations, as well as on the results of the original online survey, conducted by the article's authors, held in 2012 in Estonian university libraries governed by public law. On the basis of the current study it can be said that Estonian university librarians’ are generally committed and loyal to their library, but significant influencers of that are general job satisfaction, job security feeling, good relationship with the closest colleagues, and support and recognition from direct supervisor. However, the sign of a danger is that 42% of the respondents are ready to change their job, if a more suitable opportunity is available. The results also show that the length of employment in a particular library is positively correlated with job commitment. The biggest challenge for managements of the university libraries in Estonia is to keep young professionals not only committed to their current libraries, but also committed to their chosen occupation. Management should also pay more attention to improve communication between direct managers and employees, and to improve the job security feeling among librarians.

KEYWORDS:

• university libraries
• employees
• loyalty
• commitment
• job security
• interpersonal relationships