An analysis of the impact of the environment on the transfer of training in the workplace: A systematic review

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the impact of the environment on the transfer of training in the work environment, as little has been done to explore the nature of the transfer of the learning work environment. This study used secondary sources. The information was outsourced from online journals (published peer-reviewed articles), published and unpublished dissertations, online sources, and textbooks relevant to the studied topic. An employee's work environment consists of the physical and social conditions in which employees perform their daily duties and impact how well a person puts their training to use. This study concludes that organizational level (characteristics of the work environment) significantly affect the transfer of training in the work environment positively or negatively. Trainees who worked in a more positive environment and received more encouragement from their peers made the most progress on transferring training. However, peer-supported trainees in a negative environment were just as successful at transferring what they learned as those in a favourable one. Training transfer was highly correlated with supervisory assistance, work autonomy, and preferred support. There is a lack of theory on the transfer of training. This study will contribute to the theory by expanding the subject of the work environment about the transfer of training. Findings from this research will advance the science behind the work environment variables and transfer of training. This study will bring new knowledge of the work environment on the transfer of training and will provide leads for future research. Since this study relied on secondary sources, it was limited to the scholarly work that was available at the time the research was conducted.