On the Relationship Between Work Agency and Professional Development: A Quantitative Study

• In Event: 26.078 - Professional Development in the Context of Workplace Learning

Abstract

The abstract concept of agency has widely been used in workplace learning discourses to explain the individual's impact on professional development processes. However, empirical research on this concept is still scarce and no quantitative study has investigated the assumed relationship. This contributions therefore aims to investigate this relationship by employing a quantitative approach in the domain of geriatric care. The following research questions guided this study: (1) How does agency as an individual-level characteristic explain employees' engagement in agentic efforts?, (2) How does the engagement in those efforts relate to the development of work-related expertise?, and (3) What organizational factors affect agency and/or the engagement in agentic efforts? Data from 221 geriatric care nurses was used to answer these questions.

Authors

• Michael Goller, University of Paderborn

• Christian Harteis, Paderborn University

• Christoph Fischer, University of Paderborn