The nexus between demographic correlates, career and organizational commitment: the case of real estate employees in Nigeria

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of socioeconomic characteristics as well as organisational profile as predictors of the organisational and career commitments of real estate employees in the employment of private estate surveying and valuation firms. Design/methodology/approach A total of 333 closed-ended questionnaires were administered on estate surveyors and valuers practicing in private real estate firms in Lagos State, Nigeria, out of which 124 (37.2%) were retrieved and found suitable for analysis. The data were analysed using frequencies, percentage, mean rating, one sample t-test and ANOVA. Findings The findings showed that though the male real estate employees rated a higher level of organisational commitment than their female counterparts, the female employees showed a higher level of career commitment. Besides, the results showed that across both genders and on an overall basis, there was a significant relationship between career commitment and organisational commitment. Also, while demographic factors such as age, management level and professional qualification have a statistically significant relationship with career commitment, factors relating to marital status, academic qualification, management level and firms’ year of the establishment were statistically significant with employees’ organisational commitment. Practical implications The study deepens the understanding of the influence of demographic and firms’ correlates in explaining the performance of real estate employees in Nigeria, an emerging African market, where issues of absenteeism, poor remuneration and low retention appear prevalent. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt at examining the influence of demographic variables on the organisational and career commitment of real estate employees in Nigeria.