Employee work adjustment scale for small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand

Abstract

Purpose Employee work adjustment (EWA) represents the ability of individuals to adjust effectively to working conditions, supervisors, the environment and their peers. To deal with work adjustment in different environments, companies need to both understand and continually assess their employees. The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure EWA for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in three stages to develop a measurement scale for EWA. First, 18 questions were developed as a questionnaire based on concepts and theories of EWA and validated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) into four dimensions such as work, supervisor, environment and peer adjustments. Then, a survey was conducted for 360 new employees in SMEs. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and convergent validity were tested along the four adjustment dimensions. Findings This research extended and broadened the EWA concept to provide theoretical support for the adjustment of intelligence research. Four dimensions were developed to measure EWA including aspects of work, supervisor, environment and peer. Research limitations/implications The EWA model was examined using EFA and CFA only. Questionnaire results suggested that concrete constructs were stronger because of single-source, self-assessed data collection as the sample included only employees of SMEs in high-growth sectors of Thailand. EWA findings exhibited a good fit but results require further future refinement and validation using a larger sample size and sampling area. Practical implications The EWA questionnaire has practical use regarding management behaviour and can assist companies and practitioners to better understand the required adjustments for new employees at start-up. This knowledge will help managers to encourage and support newcomers to work better and deliver effective results. Managers and practitioners can develop and hone work adjustment practices for new recruits according to the four dimensions proposed here. Originality/value The validity of this EWA questionnaire will facilitate the future study on boundaries with EWA measurements spanning SMEs contexts. Empirical research results verified that EWA assessment offered new perspectives to explore vital individual work adjustments that are necessary for new recruits to succeed. This instrumental support will help researchers to effectively understand EWA and explore its potential in future studies.