PSYCHOLOGICAL HOPE AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This research investigates the correlation between employees' psychological hope and their organisational commitment. The study utilizes a sample of 280 managerial and non-managerial employees, randomly select-ed from five purposefully chosen major oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Employ-ing a quasi-experimental research design, data collection was conducted through a cross-sectional survey, which is deemed most suitable for the administrative sciences. Data analysis was performed using the Spear-man rank correlation coefficient utilizing the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The results reveal a noteworthy and positive association between employees' psychological hope and organisa-tional commitment within the major oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Specifically, employees' willpower and way power were identified as having a positive and statistically significant impact on their affective, normative, and continuance commitments within these organisations. In light of these find-ings, the study concludes that employees' psychological hope significantly contributes to enhancing organisa-tional commitment within major oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It particularly emphasises the pivotal roles of employees' willpower (agency) and way power (pathways) in increasing their affective, normative, and continuance commitments within these organisations. Consequently, it underscores the necessity for managers of oil and gas companies in Nigeria to effectively manage employees' psychologi-cal hope to strengthen their commitment to the organisation. Moreover, the study discusses additional theo-retical and managerial implications for fostering employees' hope in the workplace, with specific reference to the Nigerian oil and gas sector.