WORK-LIFE FLEXIBILITY AND EMPLOYEE JOB COMMITMENT IN DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between work-life flexibility and employee job commitment, specifically examining the affective commitment and normative commitment dimensions, among employees of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Anchored on Social Exchange Theory, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, and Organizational Support Theory, the study adopted an explanatory cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 124 usable responses using a structured questionnaire adapted from validated instruments, drawn from a target population of 209 employees of selected DMBs in Rivers State. Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was employed as the inferential statistical technique for hypothesis testing. The study found that work-life flexibility had a strong and significant positive relationship with affective commitment (r = 0.777, p < 0.05) and a moderate and significant positive relationship with normative commitment (r = 0.551, p < 0.05). Both null hypotheses were rejected, confirming that work-life flexibility is a critical organizational lever for enhancing the emotional attachment and moral obligation dimensions of employee commitment in the banking sector. The study concluded that DMBs that institutionalize flexible scheduling, remote work options, and family-supportive leave policies foster a psychologically safe and supportive work environment that strengthens employees' desire to remain with, and their sense of moral obligation towards, their organizations. The study recommended that bank management should develop and implement structured, equitably accessible, and culturally sensitive work-life flexibility policies to enhance affective and normative commitment among employees.