LEARNING AND WORKING CLIMATE ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION

AMONG EMPLOYEES OF A PRIVATE COMPANY

Chapter I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

One cannot deny the importance of a good learning and working climate in every

organization. Providing a positive learning and working climate can facilitate personal

and professional growth among employees such that employees would feel their worth in

the organization. This in effect will result to better assimilation and involvement in the

organization. Moreover, this will provide better commitment among employees and

results to a very positive employee retention.

In this ever dynamic contemporary economy, establishments have to be able to

forestall technological innovations and to compete with other companies around the

world. This need makes important a company’s ability to evolve through its employees’

learning and through continuous development. Securing and retaining skilled employees

plays a pivotal role in this process, because employees’ knowledge and skills are essential

to companies’ ability to be economically and globally competitive. Given the fact that

employee retention has proven to be vital for the functioning of a company, this scholarly

work is focused on the factors that are of influence to employee retention. Specifically

the factors are focused on the learning and working climate of an organization primarily

on the items on appreciation and stimulation, leadership skills, pressure of work,

following procedures, and learning attitude (Kyndt, Dochy, Michielsen & Moeyaert,

2009).
 A special interest is taken in employees’ learning, this learning has a strong

positive effect on retention as previously proven in some studies (e.g., Echols 2007;

Gershwin 1996; Rodriguez 2008). Rodriguez (2008) claims: If employees feel they aren’t

learning and growing, they feel they are not remaining competitive with their industry

peers for promotion opportunities and career advancement. Once top employees feel they

are no longer growing, they begin to look externally for new job opportunities. Collin

(2009) found that learning and a work-related identity are related to one another in many

ways, and, according to Dewey (1916), an individual’s identity is formed by, among

other things, that person’s vocation. Dewey (1916) refers to a vocation as a calling that is

central to an individual’s identity. Furthermore, Collin’s (2009) findings suggest that,

besides the relationship between learning and the construction of a work-related identity,

there also exist a relationship between organisational commitment and various learning

processes.

At multiple points in the company where a considerable number of resignations

have been reported in a period of 3 months was observed. Varying reasons have been

cited during the exit interviews about the reasons of resignations. This is one of the

triggering points which prompted the researcher to conduct this study. Further, based on

the researcher’s readings on employee retention, learning and working climate has been

pointed out as one of the reasons affecting employee retention. This further triggered the

researcher to correlate the two variables. Localizing the study in the company where the

researcher is connected makes the study unique as it will prove the findings of the

previous studies on its applicability to the local scenario. The findings of the study will

prove to be of significance to the profession as it will develop recommendations that can

be adopted by every organization to develop or strategize programs intended to improve

learning and employee climate which will in effect allow employers to strengthen

programs on employee retention for the achievement of organizational goals and meet

customer satisfaction in the end. The researcher is confident that this undertaking will

provide positive results as the researcher is determined and skilled to conduct this study.

Theoretical Background

Theories. The study is anchored on the four most significant theories relating to

employee retention, namely: Employee Equity Model by John Stacey Adams (1963),

Herzberg’s (Two-Factor) Theory by Frederick Herzberg (1959) and Job Embeddedness

Theory Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski & Erez (2001). The study will make use of

these three theories to support the study’s main purpose of determing the learning and

employee climate as well as the employee retention as perceived by the renk-and-file

employees. After which both variables will be correlated to assess if they have a

significant correlation of which recommendations will be proposed (See Figure 1).

Equity Theory and Employee Motivation. Another factor of motivation lies in

the equity theory that relates to the perception of fairness of distribution of benefits from

similar contributions into group tasks and personal relationships. The contributions are

inputs an individual makes to an endeavor and the benefits are the outcomes from the

successful execution of the activity. Most individuals prefer the outcome to be relatively

commensurate with their inputs, especially when compared with outcomes gained from

similar inputs provided by a colleague or another individual they are in a relationship

with (Jörgensen, Ahmad & Azumah, 2011).

 Employee Equity Model Herzberg’s (Two- Job Embeddedness
by John Stacey Adams Factor) Theory by Theory Mitchell,
(1963) Frederick Herzberg Holtom, Lee, Sablynski
(1959) & Erez (2001)

Rank-and-File Employees of Cebu

General Services Incorporated

Learning and Employee

Climate:
 appreciation and
stimulation;
 leadership skills;
 pressure of work; Employee Retention
 following procedures;
and
 learning attitude

Recommendations

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study Utilizing the Employee Equity Model by
John Stacey Adams (1963), Herzberg’s (Two-Factor) Theory by Frederick Herzberg
(1959) and Job Embeddedness Theory Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski & Erez
(2001).
 Individuals seek equity by distorting the input or outcomes in their own minds or

by physically taking actions to alter the inputs or outcomes. These physical actions can

involve the quitting the job with the group or organization where they experience the

inequity. The motivation implication in the equity and expectancy theories was confirmed

by an experiment (Taylor & Taylor, 2011) which attempted to explain the need for a

balance in efficiency and wages in the public services sector. In their article, they stated

that public service motivation theory (PSM) was most often associated with increased

wages. Variants of this theory mention the gift exchange model and the labour turnover

model in which a higher than market wage rate is paid to elicit feelings of gratitude and

prevent a shifting to alternative jobs respectively.

Intrinsic Factors of Job Satisfaction. Herzberg (Herzberg, HBR), a psychologist

argued that employees are less likely to be motivated by extrinsic incentives such as

perks, plush offices or even promotions or pay. Rather, employees are most often

motivated by intrinsic rewards which include interesting, challenging work and

opportunities to grow and achieve greater responsibility. He believed in empowering the

employees by giving them more responsibility, making information directly available to

employees rather than channeling it through supervisors, assigning new and difficult

tasks to individuals and giving them opportunity to perform specialized tasks that enable

them to become experts. He proposed a theory about the factors that motivate employees.

He uncovered two aspects of job satisfaction. One of the aspects is the motivators itself

i.e. the elements which are primarily responsible for job satisfaction. Motivators may

include achievement, recognition, nature of the work, responsibility and career

progression. He called another aspect the hygiene factors. The presence of hygiene
factors do not contribute to job satisfaction but their absence negatively affect the job

satisfaction. The hygiene factors include company policy, supervision, interpersonal

relations, working conditions, and salary (Jörgensen, Ahmad & Azumah, 2011).

Job Embeddedness Theory. Mitchell et al. (2001) developed a construct that

threw more light on the factors encouraging employee retention. This construct is known

as Job Embeddedness (JE). The JE model found three main determinants: fit, links and

sacrifice where each determinant could be considered in relation to the job (internal

embeddedness) on one hand and the community or external environment (external

embeddedness) on the other. The details of the determinants of JE are: (a) Fit – with

factors such as career goals, personal values and future plans. It can be defined as how

the comfortable the employee is with workplace elements. The level of skill utilization

and integration in community or work environment are also factors of the Fit component;

(b) Link – is a component related to the extent of integration with community and work

place. Family pressures are some of the factors under this component of JE; and (c)

Sacrifice – is the perceived cost of leaving the social and job network. This is less if

employee has not formed deep links with colleagues in the work place or industry. Each

of the determinants of JE is considered as influenced by the workplace on one hand and

the community where the subject lives on the other. The three determinants have since

discovery been used in various studies to test generally their level of support for popular

industries where turnover was a major concern. Being a young theory, studies are still

ongoing across an expanding array of specialized industries and organizations.

Contribution of Job Embeddedness to Employee Retention. Quite a number of

studies have been conducted to confirm the JE construct’s superiority over existing job
satisfaction and organizational commitment models in attempting to explain the

employee turnover problem. Reitz, Anderson and Hill (2010) stated that in measuring

turnover factors, it is unclear under certain circumstances whether the employee left the

job voluntarily or involuntarily. This is due to the difficulty in getting the employee’s

perspective after he has left the job and also possible biased reliance on organisation's

information on the employee such as exit interviews. They made a comparison between

traditional turnover research (TT) and JE asserting that voluntary and involuntary

turnover were not well explained from using existing traditional turnover research design.

Again they intimated that a cross-tabulation of the contributory factors of turnover

against the mode of the turnover (voluntary or involuntary) could not reveal any

conclusive information using the traditional turnover research design and therefore

concluded that the JE construct is better overall in employee retention and turnover

studies.

Mallol, Holtom and Lee (2007) conducted an experiment that tested the

consistency of the JE construct across diverse cultures. They found that linkages to

community were explained by the family commitment aspects of JE. They concluded that

family commitment was one way by which a culture demonstrated which kind of family

arrangement was dominant: whether the nuclear or the extended family system was

emphasized. It has been concluded from the study that the kind of arrangement practiced

generally affected the wealth of the individuals: there is a negative correspondence

between the size of the family and wealth. Community related components of the JE

construct will thus be higher for cultures which value the extended family system.
 Many organizational commitment studies led to unexplained variances in the

outcomes of their research. For instance, there is a variance between occupational

withdrawal and organizational commitment. The concept of JE was introduced as a

response (Adams, Webster & Buyarski, 2010) to these observations and presents a

broader set of factors that have less affective components. Tanova and Holtom (2008)

intimated that despite the many meta-analyses on the determinants of turnover, there is

still no universal agreement on those determinants of employee turnover.

Generally though, it has been discovered that job satisfaction and attitude alone

do not explain whether employees stay or leave their jobs. This article mentions two

schools of employee turnover research: the labour market school and the psychological

school. The labour market school assumes a rational employee who is influenced by

external factors related to labour market. Psychological school places emphasis on the

voluntary behaviour encompassing attributable factors such as job satisfaction,

organisational commitment and job involvement (Jörgensen, Ahmad & Azumah, 2011).

Learning and Working Climate. The results of the study of Nikolova, Van

Ruysseveldt, Van Dam and De Witte (2016) showed that work restructuring moderated

the hypothesized relationships. Under conditions of high restructuring, facilitation

learning climate was an important predictor of learning outcomes; yet, under conditions

of low work restructuring, appreciation learning climate was more effective. The current

paper contributes to research on organizational change and workplace learning by

providing evidence that organizational change can impact the way organizational learning

climate supports employee learning.

 Employee Retention. The previously mentioned demographic and economic

evolutions prompt organisations to focus increasingly on the retaining of talented

employees. This process is known as retention and is very important for the future of a

company. Frank, Finnegan and Taylor (2004) define retention as “... the effort by an

employer to keep desirable workers in order to meet business objectives”. The directive

for companies in this time of “war for talent” is to reduce turnover in favour of the

retention of talented employees.

Previous research has identified several factors relating to employee retention,

situated on both organisational and employee levels. On the organisational side, factors

influencing retention appear to be the existence of challenging and meaningful work,

opportunities for advancement, empowerment, responsibility, managerial integrity and

quality and new opportunities/challenges (Birt, Wallis & Winternitz, 2004). Walker

(2001) also identified seven factors which can encourage retention: (a) compensation and

appreciation of the work performed; (b) the provision of challenging work; (c)|

opportunities to learn; (d) positive relationships with colleagues; (e) recognition of

capabilities and performance contributions; (f) good work-life balance; and (g) good

communication within the organisation. Echols (2007) states that, when combined with

selective promotion and salary action, the learning and development process is a strong

retention activity. Finally, Hytter (2007) demonstrated that workplace factors such as

rewards, leadership style, career opportunities, training and development of skills,

physical working conditions, and work-life balance, have an indirect influence on

retention. The fact that effective training, and opportunities to learn and develop, enhance

employee retention, is also confirmed by other researchers such as Arnold (2005),

Herman (2005) and Hiltrop (1999). It can therefore be concluded that learning and

development can be considered as important retention-enhancing strategies. Research has

also shown that, as long as employees feel that they are learning and growing, they will

be less inclined to leave. On the other hand, once employees feel they are no longer

growing, they begin to look externally for new job opportunities (Rodriguez, 2008). This

makes development and learning critical for attracting and retaining employees, because

“[...] talented people are inclined to leave if they feel they are not growing and stretching”

(Michaels, Handfield-Jones & Axelrod, 2001). This body of research underpins surely the

main ideas of organisational learning, stressing the importance of individual development

in order for organisations to learn as a whole (Argyris, 2001; Gijbels and Spaenhoven,

2011; Peck, Galucci, Sloan & Lippincott, 2009).

Learning and Working Climate on Employee Retention. The results show that

when organisations want to retain their employees it is important to pay attention to the

learning of employees. Letting people do more and learn more of what they are good at

will encourage them to stay with the organisation. Results concerning the selected

employee variables show that only age has a significant relationship with retention.

Regarding the intention to stay, there exists a positive relationship between age and

retention (Govaerts, Kyndt, Dochy & Baert, 2010).

Results from previous research show that the appreciative approach,

operationalized through an appreciative learning and working climate, positively

influences employee retention (Abrams, Castermans, Cools, Michielsen, Moeyaert, B.,

Van Meeuwen & Van Nooten, 2008; Christiaensen, Kinschots, Marcelis, Philips, Van

Cauwenberghe, Van den Bogaert & Vervaeke, 2009; Kyndt, Dochy, Michielsen &
Moeyaert, 2009; Van Hamme, 2009). However, it has also been found in other studies

that the gap approach, operationalised by ‘following procedures and rules within the

workplace’, also contributes positively to talent retention, though to a much smaller

extent (Abrams et al., 2008; Christiaensen et al., 2009; Van Hamme, 2009). In this study

we will try to clarify the relationship between the learning and working climate and

employee retention.

Statement of Purpose

The study aims to assess the relationship between the learning and working

climate and employee retention among employees of a private company for the year

2018.

The study further answers the following questions:

1. What is the learning and employee climate among employees in terms of:

1.1 appreciation and stimulation;

1.2 leadership skills;

1.3 pressure of work;

1.4 following procedures; and

1.5 learning attitude?

2. What is the employee retention among employees?

3. Is there a significant relationship between learning and employee climate and

employee retention among employees?

4. What recommendations can be proposed based on the findings of the study?

Statement of Null Hypothesis

 Ho1: There is no significant relationship between learning and employee climate

and employee retention among employees.

Significance of the Study

The study will be beneficial to the following group of individuals:

Employees. Findings of the study will serve as an assessment of the employees

needs regarding learning and workplace climate in the organization as well as employee

retention. They will be able to gain insights about their needs and will be able to open

these needs to management and administration. By knowing also the baseline

information, they will know their current status with the company and they will be able to

take appropriate measures to improve commitment and loyalty with the company.

Clients. They will be served better and satisfaction can be guaranteed as

employees of the company will be able to strive continuous improvement as a product of

increased commitment and loyalty with the company.

Administrators. They will be able to devise strategies and measures to improve

employer-employee relationship. Appropriate trainings, seminars and continuing

professional education may be afforded to employees for personal and professional

development.

Policy-makers. The findings can serve as a reference in drafting policies and

regulations for different organization and companies to benefit the employees and

employers.

The Researcher. The researcher will be able to develop her skills in conducting

research. She will be able to gain knowledge about the topics on learning and working
climate and employee retention which she can use to improve her commitment to work

and company.

Future Researchers. The findings of the study will serve as a reference for future

studies relating to learning and working climate as well as employee retention. The

findings may also serve as researchable topics. Lastly, the study itself, can be replicated

to further prove or disprove the findings.

Definition of Terms

To provide better understanding of the variables and sub-variables utilized in the

study, the following terms are defined operationally:

Employees. Are the rank-and-file employees of Cebu General Services

Incorporated whose perceptions on learning and working climate and employee retention

are determined and correlated.

Employee Retention. Refers to the perceptions of the respondents on the ability

of their organization to retain its employees which is measures either very negative to

very positive.

Learning and Employee Climate. This refers to the variable being measured in

the study as the independent variable in terms of the appreciation and stimulation;

leadership skills; pressure of work; following procedure; and learning attitude which is

measured whether very poor to very good.

Appreciation and Stimulation. This concerns on appreciative climate

and stimulation of personal development.

 Leadership Skills. Refers to the factors which elicits data about

employees’ communication competence, stress proneness, and interest in taking

up a leader’s role within the organisation.

Pressure of Work. Refers to the perceptions of the respondents

concerning pressure brought about by work.

Following Procedures. Refers to the perceptions of the respondents about

the procedures, rules, and working methods within the organisation.

Learning Attitude. This refers to the employees’ readiness to learn and

the initiative to learn.

Private Company. Refers to the locale of the study which specifically pertains to

Cebu General Services Incorporated.

Recommendations. Pertains to the output of the study based on the correlation

between the learning and working climate and employee retention.

 Chapter II

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methods used in the conduct of the study. The design

used in the study along with where the study will be conducted is presented in this

chapter. Other components such as the respondents along with how respondents are

selected (inclusion and exclusion criteria). The instrument, data gathering procedures and

the statistical treatment of data are also discussed on this chapter.

Design

The study will make us of the descriptive, correlational quantitative research

design. A descriptive design is used to describe characteristics of a population or

phenomenon being studied. It did not answer questions about how/when/why the

characteristics occurred. Rather it addressed the "what" question. In application to the

study, it is descriptive in nature as it tries to determine the learning and working climate

descriptively along with the employee retention. A correlational design determines

whether or not two variables are correlated. This means to study whether an increase or

decrease in one variable corresponds to an increase or decrease in the other variable. As

used in the study, it is correlational as it assesses the significant correlation between the

learning and working climate descriptively along with the employee retention. As the

study tries to correlate the variables, namely: learning and working climate and employee

retention, it is just fitting that the designed used is appropriate for this study.

Environment

The study will be conducted in Cebu General Services Incorporated. The

company is duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment and has all
the necessary permits issued by the corresponding government agencies. It existed and

has been evolving and serving customers with utmost sincerity and professionalism for

more than 40 years. Recognizing the market need the company was organized and has

developed a service that will greatly facilitate and address the client’s manpower need.

Its ethical and professional approach has transformed the mindset of the client thus was

able to developed a long term business relationship with more than 100 companies

nationwide with which 80 percent are from the Export Processing Zone. The company

started its business in May 23, 1974 with an office staff of four (4) and one hundred (100)

workers. The company has made a rapid change and at present, we have an office staff

of One Hundred Forty Six (146) and more than ten thousand (10,000) workers assigned

to the different companies located in Mactan Economic Zone, Mitsumi Realty Inc.-

Special Economic Zone, Hotel Industries and other establishments in the province of

Cebu and nationwide. It is the company’s mission to help the country deal with high

unemployment rate and to build high ethical practice as a manpower company.

Respondents

The study will make use of the rank-and-file employees of Cebu General Services

Incorporated. Currently there are 140 rank-and-file employees.

Sampling Design. No sampling will be done in the study, instead, all those rank-

and-file employees who qualify based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be

invited to participate in the study.

Inclusion Criteria. Respondents will be chosen based on the following inclusion

criteria: (a) of legal age regardless of sex, marital status, educational qualification and
religious affiliation and (b) any rank-and-file regardless of their employment status

whether contractual, probationary or regular.

Exclusion Criteria. Excluded from the study are the following: (a) those who are

under the orientation phase of their employment with the company who have served the

company for less than 3 months; (b) those who have tendered their resignation and is

waiting for the effectivity of their resignation; (c) employees holding managerial

positions; (d) those not willing to give voluntary consent; and (e) those members of the

vulnerable groups such as pregnant employees and persons with disability.

Instrument

The study will make use of a two-part instrument. The questionnaire is an

adaptation from the study of Kyndt et al. (2009) entitled ‘Employee retention:

organisational and personal perspectives.’ The questionnaire had been in the public

domain and have been tested in terms of its reliability and validity. The first part of the

instrument pertains to the learning and working climate. It is a 57-item questionnaire

where it is composed of five factors, namely: appreciation and stimulation (24 items),

leadership skills (14 items), pressure of work (6 items), following procedures (6 items)

and learning attitude (7 items). It is rated using a five-point likert scale from 1 (strongly

disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Parametric scores and interpretations are as follows: 1.00

– 1.79 is very poor, 1.80 – 2.59 is poor, 2.60 – 3.39 is fair, 3.40 – 4.19 is good, and 4.20 –

5.00 is very good.

Part two of the instrument answers the problem on employee retention. There are

twelve (12) items in order to measure employee retention intentions. It is rated using a

five-point likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Parametric scores
and interpretations are as follows: 1.00 – 1.79 is very negative, 1.80 – 2.59 is negative,

2.60 – 3.39 is not positive, not negative, 3.40 – 4.19 is positive, and 4.20 – 5.00 is very

positive.

Data Gathering Procedure

The study will officially commence with seeking permission from the Dean of the

Graduate Studies. Once approved a transmittal letter will be sent to the Director of the

Human Resource Development and Management (HRDM) of Cebu General Services

Incorporated. After seeking all the necessary permissions, the study will undergo a design

hearing through a panel of experts. An exemption from ethical review will also be sought

from an Institutional Review Board to ascertain that ethical considerations are observed

in the conduct of the study.

Implied consent will be relied on in the conduct of the study. By implied consent,

through the acts of the qualified respondents based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria

will serve as a basis for the giving of the voluntary consent. By completing and returning

the accomplished questionnaire, this will serve as an act of voluntary consent by the

respondents. No coercion or any form of intimidation will be exerted to ensure

participation. No payments or incentives will be given to the respondents as the study is

merely answering a questionnaire in about 5-10 minutes during their most convenient

time at a very place convenient and safe for them where privacy and confidentiality will

be strictly observed.

The study will only be collecting responses of the participants to the questionnaire

which are numeric and quantitative in nature. No interventions or treatments will be

introduced in the study as it is purely non-experimental. Respondents are only exposed to

minimal risks, similar to a risk that an ordinary person is exposed to, during an ordinary

day. Once questionnaires are retrieved, data will be collated and treated statistically. They

will be presented in tabular forms with the corresponding interpretations and analyses

along with the supporting or contradicting related literatures and studies.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The study will make us of the following descriptive and inferential statistics to

answer the problems of the study, to wit:

Mean Score. This will be used to determine the level of learning and working

climate as well as the level of employee retention among employees.

Chi Square. This will be utilized to determine the significant relationship

between the learning and working climate with the employee retention.

Cramer’s V. This will be utilized in order to determine the strength of the

relationship between the level of learning and working climate with the employee

retention.
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Van Hamme, S. (2009). Talent development bij werknemers: De relatie tussen

leerklimaat en retentive. (Talent development for employees: the relationship
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8.
APPENDICES
 APPENDIX A
TRANSMITTAL LETTER TO THE DEAN OF THE GRADUATE STUDIES

May 24, 2018

__________________________
Dean, Graduate Studies
University of San Jose Recoletos
Cebu City, 6000

Sir/Madam:

I would like to ask permission from your good office that I will be allowed to conduct my
research study entitled: “Learning and working climate on employee retention among
employees of a private company.”

This is in compliance with the requirements of my master’s degree as I am currently

enrolled in thesis writing. Rest assured that all information gathered will be used for
educational purposes and will be treated with strict confidentiality.

Hoping for a favourable response.

Respectfully yours,

___________________________
Researcher

Noted:

___________________________
Research Adviser
 APPENDIX B
TRANSMITTAL LETTER TO THE DRECTOR OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

May 24, 2018

__________________________
Director, Human Resource Development and Management
Cebu General Services Incorporated
Cebu City

Sir/Madam:

I would like to ask permission from your good office that I will be allowed to conduct my
research study entitled: “Learning and working climate on employee retention among
employees of a private company.”

This is in compliance with the requirements of my master’s degree as I am currently

enrolled in thesis writing. Rest assured that all information gathered will be used for
educational purposes and will be treated with strict confidentiality.

Hoping for a favourable response.

Respectfully yours,

___________________________
Researcher

Noted:

___________________________
Research Adviser
 APPENDIX C
QUESTIONNAIRE

The following questions are part of research being carried out to determine the learning
and working climate and employee retention in the company. Your honesty and
cooperation is highly appreciated.

All questions are to be rated 1 to 5 score. Please indicate your response by checking the
box for each question using the following scoring:

1 – Strongly disagree
2 – Disagree
3 – Neutral
4 – Agree
5 – Strongly agree

Part I. Independent Factor: Learning and Working Climate

1 2 3 4 5
Factor 1: Appreciation and Stimulation
1 The executive staff tries to understand the problems employees
experience in their work.
2 On the job I have sufficient opportunity to use my personal
talents and use my initiative.
3 The executive staff in this company seems to make an effort to
be nice to the employees.
4 At work there seems to be an honest interest in the things I’m
doing outside of work.
5 The executive staff in this company always appears to be ready
to give advice about how I can learn something new.
6 We can criticise the work regulations and our criticisms are
heard.
7 When reforms are implemented, it’s because somebody had a
good idea which was implemented.
8 My company gives me the opportunity to get training in subjects
that interest me.
9 My company stimulates me to think about where I stand and
where I need to get to achieve the company goals.
10 In this company they believe in me.
11 In this company people can really choose what work they want
to do.
12 At work I am doing stimulates me to develop myself in things
that I’m not yet very good at.
13 The company motivates me to develop, if possible, my own
work-related interests.
14 In this company I have the opportunity to organise my work so
that it fits the way I learn.
15 For a large part, I determine how I work.
16 There are lots of ways that I can choose to learn.
17 Our ideas and interests are taken serious by executive staff.
18 My company gives me the opportunity to specialise in my
strengths.
19 Most executives make an effort to get to know us.
20 I have the feeling that I have to put my own ideas aside to meet
the corporate strategy.
21 In my job I have the opportunity to do something with my skills
and knowledge.
22 In my job I am stimulated to think about the skills that I am
good at.
23 We have a lot of freedom of choice when it comes to the tasks
we have to do.
24 My executive appreciates it when someone has a new way of
looking at a problem.
Factor 2: Leadership Skills
1 I can communicate, present and give a speech well.
2 I can convince everyone of the correctness and necessity of the
ideas and actions I propose and undertake.
3 When doing my work I use my creativity and inventiveness.
4 I think of feasible and concrete actions that are in accordance
with my personal vision and goals.
5 I can assign task to the right people in a clear manner.
6 When I’m speaking in a group, I draw everyone’s full attention.
7 I’m able to motivate others to do their tasks as well as possible.
8 When I’m working in team, I easily take the lead.
9 I know very well what my strong points are.
10 I make good decisions, even when I’m under pressure.
11 I find myself capable of taking on an executive function in this
company.
12 I have an executive function in this company.
13 Others in this company see me as someone who takes the lead
easily.
14 When an unexpected situation occurs and people panic, I remain
calm.
Factor 3: Pressure of Work
1 The work pressure is too high here.
2 I sometimes think that my job asks too many different things of
me.
3 The constant pressure of work—things that need to be done,
deadlines and competition—make me tense and sometimes
depressed.
4 There is a lot of work to do.
5 Within the company a lot of the time the focus is on my
weaknesses.
6 As an employee I am put under a lot of pressure.
Factor 4: Following Procedures
1 When I do my work, I follow the instructions closely, even
when they are not in line with my own ideas.
2 When innovations are made, it is usually because management
has decided on a corporate strategy and corporate goals and we
then try to accomplish these goals as well as possible.
3 In my job it is very important that I do what is expected of me as
closely as possible.
4 Usually when a problem occurs I rely on procedures that are
dictated by the company.
5 In this company, expectations are that I should spend a lot of
time on learning.
6 For most situations at work, procedures are enforced by the
company
Factor 5: Learning Attitude
1 When I want to learn something that can be useful in the
workplace, I take the initiative.
2 To gain insight into a complex problem, I let my imagination
run free, even when a solution does not seem to be close at
hand.
3 I love undertaking activities on my own initiative.
4 Some subjects that arise during work are so interesting that I
investigate them further, even when it is not necessary for my
work.
5 I love to accept complex and challenging tasks.
6 If I get the chance to learn, I will definitely take it.
7 I think it is important to learn throughout my life.

Part II. Dependent factor: Employee retention

a. I’m planning on working for another company within a period of

three years.
b. Within this company my work gives me satisfaction.
c. If I wanted to do another job or function, I would look first at the
possibilities within this company.
d. I see a future for myself within this company.
e. It doesn’t matter if I’m working for this company or another, as
long as I have work.
f. If it were up to me, I will definitely be working for this company
for the next five years.
g. If I could start over again, I would choose to work for another
company.
h. If I received an attractive job offer from another company, I would
take the job.
i. The work I’m doing is very important to me.
j. I love working for this company.
k. I have checked out a job in another company previously