Investigating the effects of self-efficacy on foodservice industry employees’ career commitment

Compared to workers in other kinds of occupations, such as technology services, foodservice industry workers face much higher psychological pressure with relatively lower pay. In an ideal foodservice industry, the human factor should not be neglected. With a relatively high turnover rate, understanding the psychological needs and conditions of foodservice industry workers would be helpful for the organizations and management to allow them to react properly and effectively. Previous research indicates that career commitment is the factor which most affects turnover rate. Researchers have discussed numerous motivation factors affecting career commitment, but they have not examined the relative contributions of self-system, i.e. individuals exercising control over their thoughts, feelings and actions. Among the beliefs with which an individual evaluates the control s/he has over his/her actions and environment, self-efficacy beliefs are the most influential arbiter of human activity. This empirical study examines the relationship between self-efficacy and career commitment in the foodservice sector. ANOVA of survey data from 1025 foodservice employees supported the relationship between self-efficacy and career commitment. A chi-square test found that high self-efficacy degrees indicate a higher level of career commitment. Our findings suggest that the higher an employees’ self-efficacy, the higher their career commitment will be.