Purpose
– This paper aims to investigate the role of work locus of control (WLOC) as a moderator of the relationship between employee wellbeing and organizational commitment.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper reports on a quantitative study of middle level executives from motor‐cycle manufacturing organizations based in Northern India. The focus of the paper is to examine the predictive ability of wellbeing and the moderating effect of WLOC in predicting organizational commitment.

Findings
– The results suggest that wellbeing is negatively related to conditional continuance commitment, whereby employees consider the advantages associated with continued participation and costs associated with leaving, and normative commitment, whereby employees feel they have moral obligations to remain with the organization. The presence of an external WLOC has a positive impact on the relationship. Wellbeing, as represented by a hassle‐free existence, predicts positive affective commitment with a particular organization, and internal WLOC as represented by effort influences the relationship negatively.

Research limitations/implications
– Although a cross‐sectional study, its findings have implications for contemporary leadership and organizational psychology research and practice, particularly with regard to understanding of employee commitment in a progressively changing environment.

Originality/value
– Studies examining the role of WLOC as a moderator of the relationship between wellbeing and organizational commitment are limited particularly in the context of post‐liberalization, as is the case with the manufacturing industry in India.