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Understanding The Role Of Workplace Relationships In Employee Commitment And Engagement: A Complementary Fit Perspective, Kyle Ehrhardt

Theses and Dissertations

For most of us, work is an inherently social experience. We depend on our relationships to accomplish our work tasks. Emerging theory also suggests that work relationships play a role in meeting our social and developmental needs, and in so doing, affect our attitudes toward our jobs and organizations. Specifically, relational systems theory holds that employees have five different `relational needs,' and are more likely to become committed to their organization and engaged in their work when they are embedded in a set of workplace relationships that meet these needs. According to the theory, employees' experiences of need fulfillment create …