Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment on the Relationship between Quality of Work Life and Job Performance: Evidence from Station Masters in Sri Lanka Railways

Abstract

Quality of Work Life in an organization is a critical factor for deciding organizational effectiveness and reducing the negative behavior of workers. This concept is considered as a deciding factor of employee related outcomes. A systematic study based on the hypothetical deductive method was carried out to glean empirical evidence from the Sri Lanka Railways context, with regard to Organizational Commitment and its mediating effect on the Quality of Work Life –Job Performance relationship. This study was correlational and cross-sectional in the time horizon and the unit of analysis was the individual. A stratified random sample of 280 Station Masters was selected from the Railways Department in Sri Lanka. A pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaire (utilizing a 5-point Likert scale) was used to collect primary data. The SPSS version 23.0 was applied, and correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Quality of Work life was positively and significantly related to Job Performance and Organizational Commitment. Further, Organizational Commitment was positively and significantly related to Job Performance. The construct of Organizational Commitment partially mediated the relationship between Quality of Work Life and Job Performance. The results were consistent with the four formulated hypotheses, establishing that Organizational Commitment mediates the relationship between Quality of Work Life and Job Performance of Station Masters who work in the Railways Department in Sri Lanka. Hence, this study provides evidence to confirm the relationship between quality of work life and job performance of the Station Masters working at the Railway in Sri Lankan context. Further this relationship can be enhanced through the mediating effect of organizational commitment Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed at the end of the paper.