Banca de DEFESA: LORENA PAIM LINHARES

Commitment systems at different career stages: a comparative study among civil servants

Commitment system. Network analysis. Career internships. Gender differences.

Commitment is a dynamic phenomenon that undergoes changes over time, in line with other sectors of life. However, this phenomenon, composed of multiple foci, tends to be fragmented for research and analysis purposes. Alternatively, Commitment System Theory (CST) seeks to encompass multiple commitments and provide tools for understanding how they interact and affect each other systemically. In turn, the career is considered a social process, inherent to the life cycle and subject to evolution throughout its development. In this sense, understanding what professionals are committed to at work and in other spheres of life other than work, in different career gains, is consolidated as an issue to be explored. Gender difference is also a relevant aspect in the formation of commitment systems, due to the historical influence of sociocultural factors in assigning social roles to men and women. The present research aims to compare the commitment systems in different spheres of the work and life (work and non-work), identifying possible effects of the gender variable and career meanings. Two quantitative and cross-sectional studies were carried out: the first applied network analysis as a methodological strategy for analyzing commitment systems; and the second, described the commitment system to different focuses of work and other spheres of life other than work, comparing the variables of gender and career incidence of civil servants. As a result, it was found that work tasks are the central focus of the workers, with those working in the management stage showing greater interaction with the focuses of the work’s sphere, while professionals in the disengagement stage express a greater balance of commitments with the two spheres. Female workers show greater commitments between the work and family, while male workers express a balance of commitments between the work and non-work domains. In conclusion, the application of network analysis is an efficient methodological strategy for apprehending the workers' commitment system, enabling integrated reflections that cover the complexity of the construct.