Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gendered and emotionalized nature of organizational commitment in a university context. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a qualitative study that utilizes a grounded theory approach. The research investigates the gendered and emotionalized nature of commitment which is often not accurately and clearly understood in the context of the modern workplace. Findings - The research finds that the existing measures of organizational commitment are biased and are not appropriate measures of the commitment of women and some men in contemporary workplaces. Studying organizational commitment using an interpretive approach allows a more realistic picture to emerge. Practical implications - Current approaches focus on measurement rather than understanding the nature of organizational commitment. As a consequence, the commitment of women, and some men, is not accurately and clearly understood in many workplaces. Lack of understanding leads to the perception that women, and some men, are lacking in commitment to their organizations. Many management decisions, such as promotion and performance management, are based on the perceptions that managers have of subordinates' commitment to the organization. Originality/value - Few researches have been conducted into how organizational commitment is understood from the perspective of the employees themselves. This paper provides insight into how managers can make more appropriate decisions based on a clearer understanding of commitment.