The effect of psychological empowerment and emotional intelligence on employee commitment in social responsibility-focused units of local governments

In this study, the impact of employees' perceptions of psychological empowerment and their levels of emotional intelligence on employee commitment was examined within the context of local governments' social responsibility units. The main purpose of the research is to investigate how the psychological and emotional resources of employees working in services that address social needs within local governments influence their levels of commitment. The reason for addressing the concepts of psychological empowerment and emotional intelligence together lies in the fact that they represent two complementary and mutually reinforcing factors in shaping employees' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral bonds with their organizations. Psychologically empowered employees tend to demonstrate higher levels of commitment, while those with high emotional intelligence are better able to manage both their intrinsic motivation and their relationships with colleagues effectively. In this context, evaluating these variables together contributes to a more comprehensive explanation of the multidimensional nature of employee commitment. The study was conducted on 500 personnel working in social responsibility units affiliated with Malatya Metropolitan Municipality, Battalgazi Municipality, and Yeşilyurt Municipality. Data were collected through a questionnaire method and analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 26.0 software programs. According to the findings, psychological empowerment and its sub-dimensions positively affect affective commitment and normative commitment. While psychological empowerment itself has a positive effect on continuance commitment, its sub-dimensions were found to have no significant impact on continuance commitment. Emotional intelligence and its sub-dimensions positively affect affective commitment. Among the sub-dimensions of emotional intelligence, only the well-being dimension has a positive effect on continuance commitment, whereas the other sub-dimensions were not found to have a significant impact. Emotional intelligence and its sub-dimensions also positively affect normative commitment, although the emotionality sub-dimension showed no significant effect. The results indicate that both emotional intelligence and psychological empowerment enhance social responsibility. Employees with higher emotional intelligence exhibit greater empathy, improved communication, and better stress management skills, which in turn strengthen their sense of social responsibility. Similarly, psychologically empowered employees who feel competent, meaningful, and strong show higher commitment to their work and demonstrate greater voluntary engagement in social responsibility activities. Keywords: Employee Commitment, Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Empowerment, Social Responsibility, Local Governments