IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT TO ADVENTIST ORGANIZATIONS IN LAOS by Chanthakho Phanthakesone An Independent study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration (Management Emphasis) Faculty of Business Administration Asia-Pacific International University May 2023
ii Independent Study Title: Impact of Employment Benefits and Intrinsic Motivation on Employee Commitment to Adventist Organizations in Laos Author: Chanthakho Phanthakesone Independent Study Principal Advisor: Dr. Henry Foster Independent Study Co-advisor: Assistant Professor Dr. Wayne Hamra Program: Master of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration 2022-2023 Academic Year
iii ABSTRACT From a Christian’s perspective, serving in an Adventist organization is serving God. Adventist organizations in Laos provide employee benefits to their full-time Adventist employees besides the base salary; these employee benefits provide supplementary support for the employees. The aim of this study was to find the extent to which these benefits impact employee commitment to the Adventist organizations run by the Laos Adventist Mission (LAM). In this study, two methods were used to collect data; the first was a survey questionnaire with rating scale and openended questions. A total of 44 employees from four different provinces responded to this survey. The second was in-depth interviews of 8 participants. The study results found that employee benefits did not have a significant positive influence on employee commitment; however, intrinsic factors had a significant positive influence on employee commitment. While employees may not prioritize employee benefits when choosing to work for Adventist organizations, nevertheless providing those benefits specified by denominational policy is a practical way to demonstrate care and responsibility toward valued human resources. Key words: Employee benefits, intrinsic motivation, employee commitment, Laos, Adventist employees
iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study has been really helpful for me as a director of an English center who manages both Laotian and foreign employees. This study would not have been done without different participants. Therefore, I would like to sincerely thank my advisor, Dr. Henry Foster, who kindly and patiently spent time to help me get this done. Also I would like to show my gratitude towards Dr. Wayne Hamra, who helped me when needed, as well as the MBA program committee members for their time reviewing my study, and all the respondents who took their time to answer the survey and interview questions. Thank you to the Southeast Asia Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists (SAUM) and the Laos Adventist Mission for their kind financial support and encouragement, especially letting me join this MBA cohort program. Lastly, I would like to thank God, who has always looked after me with good physical, spiritual, and mental health in order to finish my studies and report.
v Table of Contents ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1.............................................................................................................................................................1 Background of the Study...........................................................................................................................................1 Statement of Research Problem ...............................................................................................................................3 Rationale and Purpose of Research ..........................................................................................................................4 Research Objectives..................................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Delimitations of the Research..................................................................................................................5 Research Question(s) ................................................................................................................................................5 Benefits to be Derived from the Research.................................................................................................................5 Operational Definitions of Key Terms .......................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 2.............................................................................................................................................................8 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................8 Concepts and Related Theories.................................................................................................................................8 What does Employee Benefit mean?...................................................................................................................8 What is Organizational Commitment?.................................................................................................................9 What is Employee Commitment? ......................................................................................................................10 Intrinsic Motivation vs Extrinsic Motivation ......................................................................................................10 Related Research or Publications............................................................................................................................12 Restatement of Research Objectives and Questions...............................................................................................13 Research Hypotheses..............................................................................................................................................14 Hypothesis 1.......................................................................................................................................................14 Hypothesis 2.......................................................................................................................................................14 Conceptual Framework ...........................................................................................................................................15 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................................................................... 16 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................16 Research Design......................................................................................................................................................16 Population and Sampling Frame.............................................................................................................................16 Data Collection Method(s) and Procedures ............................................................................................................17 Data Collection Method .....................................................................................................................................17 Data Procedures.................................................................................................................................................18 Research Instrument...............................................................................................................................................18
vi Data Analysis Techniques .......................................................................................................................................19 Ethical Considerations.............................................................................................................................................19 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................................20 CHAPTER 4........................................................................................................................................................... 21 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................21 Descriptive Analysis ................................................................................................................................................21 Demographic Information of the Respondents of the Survey Questions..........................................................21 Analysis Results of Employee Benefits, Intrinsic Factors, and Employment Commitment................................23 Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression...........................................................................................29 Hypothesis Testing ..................................................................................................................................................30 Hypothesis 1.......................................................................................................................................................30 Hypothesis 2.......................................................................................................................................................31 Summary.................................................................................................................................................................31 Demographic Information of the Interviewees.......................................................................................................31 Findings from the Interviews...................................................................................................................................33 Employee Benefits .............................................................................................................................................33 Intrinsic Motivation............................................................................................................................................34 Employee Commitment .....................................................................................................................................34 CHAPTER 5........................................................................................................................................................... 35 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................35 Relationship between Employee Benefits and Employee Commitment..................................................................35 Relationship between Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment......................................................................37 CHAPTER 6........................................................................................................................................................... 39 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS and DIRECTIONS for FUTURE RESEARCH........... 39 Summary of Study...................................................................................................................................................39 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................................39 Limitations ..............................................................................................................................................................40 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................................40 Directions for Future Research................................................................................................................................41 APPENDIX 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 46 References........................................................................................................................................................... 48
vii List of Tables Table 1 Employees in Laotian Adventist Mission Organizations ................................................ 17 Table 2 Demographic Information about Respondents (N=44) ................................................... 22 Table 3 Level of Agreement with Statements about Employee Benefits..................................... 23 Table 4 Level of Agreement with Negative Statement on Employee Benefits............................ 24 Table 5 Level of Agreement with Statements about Intrinsic Factors.......................................... 25 Table 6 Level of Agreement with Statements about Employee Commitment ............................. 27 Table 7 Comparison of Average Mean and Standard Deviations for Each Variable ................... 28 Table 8 Correlation among Variables (N = 44) ............................................................................ 29 Table 9 Coefficients among Employee Benefits, Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment 30 Table 10 Demographic Information about Interviewees (N=8) ................................................... 32 List of Figures Figure 1 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Employees are the drivers of organizations; they help organizations to achieve the goals that they have set. From the highest to the lowest position in the organization, all workers are considered as employees. Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) organizations help improve the lives of people physically, mentally and spiritually (bringing souls to Christ Jesus), and this includes being aware of their employees’ lives as well. Organizations exist not just to use their employees to reach their goals only, but also to show care for them and assist employees to improve their own lives. One question is how to provide such care for them. Laos is basically a Buddhist country: 64.7% of the population is Buddhist, and only 1.7% is Christian (Scroope, 2018). The Adventist organizations in Laos officially run by the Laos Adventist Mission (LAM, formerly known as the Laos Attached Region, or LAR), include four English centers, one kindergarten-primary school, and churches. Other Adventist organizations are not directly under the LAM such as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and some English schools/centers owned by Adventist laypeople which are not officially registered as Christian schools or English centers. This study focuses solely on the organizations run by the LAM. There is one Adventist school which does not hire only Adventist people, but also some non-Adventist employees due to a lack of Adventists who have the knowledge required for the job. This study does not focus on whether employees are Adventist or non-Adventist, but rather on the extent to which employees commit themselves to the Adventist organizations run by the
2 LAM, and what leads them to organizational commitment. Are employee benefits really the main factors that create employee commitment to the work of Adventist organizations run by the LAM? The researcher has observed that many Adventist employees continue working with denominational organizations for a long time, but we do not know how committed they are. It may be clearly seen that some employees are really committed to the work of God even though they feel that their salaries are low compared to the benefits provided by for-profit companies or other organizations. What if Adventist organizations didn’t provide employee benefits; would they still be happy to stay and commit themselvesto this work? They might not reveal their opinions frankly. But many of them have stayed with Adventist organizations for a long time, and are still active in serving and doing their jobs because they have felt a call to do them and are blessed based on their own beliefs. Some of them have said that they love what they are doing in their jobs. Therefore, it would be very interesting to know how committed are the Adventist and nonAdventist employees. What are the main factors that make the employees stay and commit themselves to the work of Adventist organizations? This study will help Adventist leaders and human resource managers to see how important employee benefits are to their levels of commitment. The benefits might not be a big concern for employees who are committed to work for these organizations, ideally in the future as well as in the present. Employees might not think about these benefits now, but later if comparisons are made by friends who work for other organizations with good benefits, this might make them think about their own benefits, too.
3 Statement of Research Problem Adventist organizations employ different people from different backgrounds. It is not easily sure how they live or what their needs really are, nor how they feel about their work and workplaces. They all have different base salaries. At this point, who would know which employee is really committed to the work? People might judge whoever stays longer than the others in the same workplace and never moves, is committed. Some people might think that they can measure how committed an employee is by looking at the number of years that they serve the organization, but even new employees can be really committed to their work, as can be observed by looking at the results of their work, and how they invest their time in their work. What does commitment to work mean? Some people may think employee commitment is when employees remain and work for a long time with the organization. Some might also say committed employees are the ones who work really hard and their work results are good. None is still sure what brings employee commitment in Adventist organizations. Some people may say that employees have good benefits, and some may say the employees work committedly because they love this job from their desire to work for God. It is just their devoted hearts, so they don’t really think of other things in order to serve God, especially the Adventists. By observing employees whom the researcher knows, it appears that they have committed their lives and time to work for God from their intrinsic motivation. But of course, employee benefits still play an important role as we don’t know each employee’s needs. Some may not think about employment benefits, especially some Adventists, but this may not be true of the non-Adventists. Therefore, this study will examine the extent to which employee benefits impact employee commitment to the organization or not.
4 Rationale and Purpose of Research The salaries at Adventist organizations in Laos are not very high compared to those of large for-profit companies. Many Adventist employees stay long-term with Adventist organizations, which reveals how faithful they are to their organizations, but it does not answer how committed they are to their work/organizations. But of course, to see how these employees are committed to their work is best seen from the results that they have produced. I believe that those who are still employed are those who have produced good work results. There are two perspectives that may explain why employees commit themselves to work: one is the intrinsic commitment from their hearts and own interests, since Adventist organizations are about helping their communities, and how they can influence the lives of the people whom they are helping. The second is extrinsic commitment, which expects external incentives such as rewards. The purpose of this research is to find out the degree to which employee benefits impact employee commitment in the Adventist organizations in Laos, and also if employee benefits are important or essential to organizational commitment. These findings will help leaders think about how to improve employee benefits in order to help their employees increase their commitment to Adventist organizations from which they have received these benefits. Research Objectives 1. To study the reasons for employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. 2. To study the extent to which employee benefits and intrinsic motivation impact employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos.
5 3. To explore what leaders can do to increase employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. Scope and Delimitations of the Research This study will focus only on the employees in Adventist organizations run by the Laos Adventist Mission (LAM). Since other Adventist organizations from other countries use different salary bases, this study will focus only on the Adventist organizations under the LAM which all use the same salary base. Research Question(s) 1. What are the reasons for employee commitment to Laotian Seventh-day Adventist organizations? 2. To what extent do employment benefits and intrinsic motivation impact employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos? 2.1. To what extent do employment benefits impact employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos? 2.2. To what extent does intrinsic motivation impact employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos? 3. What can leaders do to increase employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos? Benefits to be Derived from the Research Benefits to Adventist organizations: This research study will be helpful for organizations to see how employees become committed to their work, and the main drivers that encourage
6 employees to commit themselves to the work. It will help Adventist organizations to find out what they can do to best support employee commitment. Benefits to leaders as well as human resource managers: This research will help leaders of Adventist organizations to know what should be done in regards to employee benefits to strengthen ideal employee commitment. After the data collection and analysis, we may see the extent to which employee benefits impact the commitment of employees at Adventist organizations in Laos. We may also see the main factors that make employees commit to their work at Adventist organizations. Operational Definitions of Key Terms Laos Adventist Mission (LAM): the Adventist administrative organization under the former SAUM (Southeast Asia Union Mission) that shares the good news of the gospel with the Laotian people, and helps them improve their lives physically and spiritually. Employee Benefits: the supplementary support besides the base salary that Adventist organizations provide to their employees such as educational aid for their children, health checkups, medical bills (inpatient or outpatient) and etc. These benefits are provided by the Adventist organizations to assist their employees, and help protect their employees from financial risk. Intrinsic Motivation: employees enjoy doing their work because it is aligned with their own interests, and they desire to accomplish tasks without being forced to do them or without being motivated by material rewards. Doing their work fulfills their own needs and hearts’ desires because they love their jobs and their work for their organizations.
7 Employee Commitment: is an emotional attachment, engagement with, and connection between an employee and an organization. A bond is created between an employee and an organization so that (s)he wants to continue doing his/her best for an organization to help it achieve its objectives.
8 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEWS Introduction This study focuses on how companies or organizations treat their employees with the employee benefits that they provide, and on understanding more about how employee benefits work in the companies or organizations. We also focus on how important employee benefits are in addition to the salary. Besides that, we focus on how employees commit themselves to the organization that they belong to, and what really motivates them to commit themselves to work. Concepts and Related Theories What does Employee Benefit mean? A complete employee benefit package involves non-wage forms of payment such as health and/or life insurance, paid time off (PTO), a pension, and other such assistance that a company provides to employees besides their regular salaries and wages. Any non-wage benefits that an organization provides to its employees can be recognized as a benefit whether it is accepted or not (Walker, 2022). Employee benefits are programs an employer uses to supplement the cash compensation that employees receive, to protect the employee and his or her family from financial risks. Employee benefits are essential for the development of corporate industrial relations. Examples include retirement plans, child care, elder care, hospitalization programs, social security, vacation and paid holidays (Christoph, 1996). Employee benefits motivate important decisions when it comes to job delivery and performance (Cascio, 2003).
9 Compensation and benefits are important keys that help companies to retain their employees, to encourage increased employee responsibility, and to improve the quality of work life in an organization (Odunlade, 2012). According to Amah (2010), in order for the company reach its goals, it must carefully pick the benefits that its employees would appreciate the most. The company needs to provide adequate budgetary support for these benefits, and also evaluate the outcomes of the benefits provided to the employees. Amah (2010) also stated that benefits can make a big impact on employee performance and commitment. These may include health care assistance, parental leave time or child care, retirement pensions, commissions, tips, or performance-related bonuses. These elective benefits convey the message that an organization cares about its employees, and may motivate them to put more effort into their work. In addition, as Amah et al. (2013) agreed that many talented employees have learned to expect rewards besides their salaries, and these extra rewards often motivate and encourage workforces to do their best and maintain loyalty to their employers. What is Organizational Commitment? Allen & Meyer (1996) stated that organizational commitment refers to the psychological attachment of individuals to an organization and that commitment reflects employee relationships with their companies, keeps them faithful to their firms. The organizational commitment that employees have for their companies starts when they feel they are important for the company, and when the company works closely with them, and treats them as family. Companies need to build their relationship with the employees and show them that they are needed all the time and make them feel that they are a part of the companies’ success.
10 Opkara (2004) stated that employees would feel to commit themselves to stay with the organization when they feel that the employers want to invest on them and make them grow. This is how they bring their willingness in contributing their effort to reach the goal of the organization. What is Employee Commitment? Commitment means that employees have bonded with their company. They feel connected, feel that they belong and are part of such organizations, and feel that these are workplaces where they can really fit in. When employees are dedicated in this manner, they add greater value to their work because of the extra effort and determination that they put into their work. (Wainwright, 2019). Meyer and Allen (1991) found that there is a three-component model of affective, continuance, and normative commitment. Employees with solid affective commitment want to remain in the organization; employees with firm continuance commitment need to remain; those with a robust normative commitment feel that they have to remain. Employees who strongly identify with their employer’s mission and values have a strong affective or emotional bond with their organizations. Continuance commitment: In this case, emotions don’t matter because employees believe that it would be too expensive to leave the organization and lose their accumulated benefits such as salary, social ties, or reputation. Normative commitment: An employee feels the need to repay an investment made in her/him by their employing organization. Intrinsic Motivation vs Extrinsic Motivation As Baumeister (2016) observed, motivation arises from our thoughts or feelings, physical or psychological. Neuhaus (2021) emphasized that intrinsic motivation means doing something
11 because we enjoy it based on our own interests or needs. Intrinsic motivation has been defined (Ryan & Deci, 2000) as the desire to use and improve our skills through practical experience. It may vary greatly from one individual or task to another. Intrinsic motivation differs greatly from extrinsic motivation, for which an anticipated punishment or reward is the key driving factor. When a person enjoys doing something because of personal interests/needs, payment is not the primary reason for these actions (Neuhaus, 2021). Many people choose to do what they enjoy most and feel good or comfortable with. Many people quit their job even they receive a better pay just because they don’t like the job. But some just do their job because they like it and even feel good or pleasure to do things for the companies. The results of the work inspires many people to choose to work with their willingness, for examplemany people who work for the church or the non-profit organizations are really happy with their work because they can see the improvement of the other people’s life through their contribution. They are part of the life improvement for other people. Actions driven by internal interests are based on intrinsic motivation, since this kind of action does not meet any external needs. The motivation that leads to performance of this work arises due to the inherent satisfaction from doing the work, rather than from any desire for external rewards (Cherry, 2022). Intrinsic motivation is individual to each person. It exists within a person who feels that personal interests are connected to the activity (Ryan & Deci, 2000). It is true that if people don’t feel interested in what they are doing, they will not enjoy it, and they don’t want to do it from their hearts. If they don’t like to do it from their hearts or because of their interests, they might need external rewards to do it. However, if they are interested intrinsically, they don’t need any external
12 outcomes; something from inside of their hearts drives them to do it because they want to, and they find it fulfilling to do that activity or work. For example, when a person plays a sport and doesn’t win the game, but still enjoys playing, this is an example of intrinsic motivation. Or when a person joins a competition and loses the game, but still wants to continue because of enjoyment, then winning or losing is not the reason to keep playing that sport, but rather because of its intrinsic enjoyment. Related Research or Publications According to the 2018 edition of the Southeast Asia Union Mission (SAUM) Operating Working Policy that the Lao Attached Region (LAR) is using these days, I have found that LAR provides medical coverage for full-time employees and their dependent family members as an employment benefit. For example, 75% of outpatient medical bills or prescriptions may be reimbursed. But if they are inpatients, 90% of their medical bills will be covered. The LAR also provides 60% educational allowance for up to three dependent children for full-time employees. In general, the LAR follows the SAUM Operating Working Policy by providing employee benefits and assistance to full-time and part-time employees. According to Lao Law (Article 9) regarding employee benefits, there are the following types of social security benefits: 1. Health care benefits; 2. Benefits for child birth and abortion; 3. Employment injury and occupational diseases and non-work related benefits; 4. Sickness benefits; 5. Benefit for loss of working capacity;
13 6. Old-age pension; 7. Death grant benefit; 8. Benefit for family members of insured person; and 9. Unemployment benefits. (Lao National Assembly, 2013) The decree of the President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on the promulgation of the amended labor law (Article 57, The Importance of Social Security) stated that social security is important for securing the basic material and moral needs of employees and their families, aiming at maintaining a stable life during illness, giving birth, loss of capacity, retirement, death, labor accident, occupational disease, handicap, loss of job, and while facing other difficulties. Employers and employees contribute to the Social Security Fund in accordance with the social security regime determined by the State (Lao National Assembly, 2006). Restatement of Research Objectives and Questions The primary objectives for this study are to find out whether the employee benefits impact the employees of the Adventist organizations to commit themselves to the work or not, and to see what are the things that really make the employees still work at the Adventist organizations even though the base salary is not very high compared to other organizations in Laos. The research questions focus on whether employee benefits really impact the commitment of the employees at the Adventist organizations run by LAR, and whether the employee benefits are the main drivers for employees to continue working for the Adventist organizations.
14 Research Hypotheses Hypothesis 1 H1A: Employee benefits have a positive influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. H10: Employee benefits have no influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. Hypothesis 2 H2A: Intrinsic motivation has a positive influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. H20: Intrinsic motivation has no influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos.
15 Conceptual Framework Figure 1 Conceptual Framework Conclusion Many studies have found that employment benefits are very important for the employees in different organizations. These studies show that different employee benefits bring or create different perspectives to their employees, since they choose to work for the organization not only for salary, but they also look forward to see how the organization can help them improve their lives and support their families. Employee Benefits Employee Commitment H2 H1 Intrinsic Motivation
16 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Introduction This chapter describes the study’s methodology, which was done according to the following steps: research design, population and sample, data collection method and procedures, research instrument, data analysis techniques and ethical considerations. Research Design In this research paper, a descriptive correlational approach was employed. Survey questionnaires were used to collect information; to get more in-depth information, some respondents were also interviewed. Firstly, the questions on the survey questionnaires were about respondents’ personal and demographic information like their family background. Other questions focused on their opinions towards the research topic. Moreover, in order to get more information, some leaders and staff members from 3 provinces–Vientiane, the capital, Champasak and Xiengkhaung Provinces–were interviewed. All interviewees were employees who had worked for an Adventist organization for 5 years or longer. Eight people participated in the interviews, which asked questions about the study’s three variables: employee benefits, intrinsic motivation, and employee commitment. Population and Sampling Frame The population was the male and female Adventist and non-Adventist employees who work at various Adventist organizations in Laos. These include one Adventist school, three
17 English centers run by the Laos Adventist Mission, and churches in four different provinces as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 Employees in Laotian Adventist Mission Organizations Type of Organization under LAM Number of Employees Provincial Location 1 3 English Language Centers 15 people 3 Different Provinces: Vientiane (the capital city), Luang Prabang (northern Laos), and Champasak (southern Laos) 2 One Regular School 18 people Xiang Khouang (northern Laos) 3 Churches 20 pastors 4 Different Provinces: Vientiane (the capital city), Luang Prabang (northern Laos), Xiang Khouang (northern Laos) and Champasak (southern Laos) Total 53 people In this study, the researcher expected to collect data from at least 80% of the population at each target organization and church. Data Collection Method(s) and Procedures Data Collection Method In this research, a survey questionnaire was used which consisted of two types of questions: open-ended questions and rating scale questions. These survey questions have been created in a Google Form so that respondents can complete the questions online, and they have also been generated in a Microsoft Word document and printed out. This form was for workers who did not
18 have an email to do the online survey, or did not know how to do it in the Google Form. The interview questions were asked through a Zoom meeting call or WhatsApp call. Data Procedures The Google Form link to the survey questions was sent out to the pastors of churches so that their managers could not see their answers. Some workers needed to answer the survey questions on paper forms, since some of them did not know how to use the computer or have email access. Therefore, the pastor of each church in each target province was asked to lead out in giving the survey questions to the other church workers. Moreover, the interviews were conducted through Zoom and WhatsApp with the manager of each school and English center, church leaders, and some employees from each target Adventist organization and church. All the questions for both methods were translated into the Laotian language. It took at least 15-20 minutes for each target respondent using this method. It took 3 weeks to collect all the data because some employees were busy so they did it whenever they were available and some were travelling somewhere. The survey questions mostly used 5-point Likert scales. Here, 1 meant Strongly Disagree, whereas 5 meant Strongly Agree. A total of 45 survey questions were asked. Research Instrument This research was carried out using both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather the information, with the open-ended questions regarding the relationships among employee benefits, intrinsic motivation, and employee commitment.
19 To improve the validity of the researcher-developed survey and interview guide, these instruments were reviewed by three experienced researchers who provided feedback and made numerous suggestions as to how these tools could be improved. Data Analysis Techniques For the research data analysis, Microsoft Excel and a statistical software package were used to analyze the data. Descriptive Analysis, Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Moreover, descriptive statistics were also used to analyze responses to the interview questions. The following rubric illustrates how the statements from the survey questionnaires were interpreted, with the range of scores that showed the level of the agreement with each statement. A score of 4.21-5.00 implies Strongly Agree / Very High Level A score of 3.51 -4.20 implies Agree / High Level A score of 2.60 -3.50 implies Neutral / Average Level A score of 1.81-2.60 implies Disagree / Low Level A score of 1.00-1.79 implies Strongly Disagree / Very Low Level Ethical Considerations The respondents for this survey were not asked for their names or personal information on the questionnaire, and the names of interviewees were kept confidential. The research instruments and data collection methodology were also approved by the MBA Program Committee as posing no danger to respondents.
20 Conclusion In this research methodology chapter, two techniques were used to collect the data, survey questionnaires and interviews. A descriptive research method consisting of quantitative and qualitative elements was used.
21 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS OF STUDY Introduction This chapter presents the results of the data analysis collected from survey questionnaires that were given to employees who work for different organizations under the Laos Adventist Mission (LAM). The data analysis examined the effects of employee benefits towards Adventist organizations’ employee commitment. The main source of data was the survey questions, which were also supplemented by interviews. The data analysis also included the Pearson Correlation Analysis, Simple Regression Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis to test the hypothesis and lastly to find the summary of the hypothesis test results. LAM is the organization that determines employee policies and benefits. Only Adventist members are full-time and regular employees, and only regular workers receive employee benefits from the LAM. Descriptive Analysis Demographic Information of the Respondents of the Survey Questions There were 44 participants out of a total of 53 employees of Adventist organizations under LAM, which is equivalent to 83% of the population. The respondents who answered these survey questions are pastors, teachers in the English language schools, and teachers of regular schools from different provinces. These survey questions asked about gender, family status, age, years of service, the number of children, how many of them attend school, and educational assistance from the LAM. This information is displayed in Table 2.
22 Table 2 Demographic Information about Respondents (N=44) Number of Participants Percentage of Participants Gender Male 20 45.5% Female 24 54.5% Family Status Single 21 47.7% Married 23 52.3% Age <=25 7 15.9% 26-35 31 70.5% 36-45 5 11.4% 46 => 1 2.3% No. of Children None 27 61.4% One 10 22.7% Two 4 9.1% Three or more 3 6.8% No. of Children Attending School None 37 84.1% One 3 6.8% Two 2 4.5% Three or more 2 4.5% Table 2 showed that the majority of LAM employees were female (54.5%), and slightly over half of them were married (52.3%). The majority of the participants (70.5%) were aged 26- 35, and more than half (61.4%) have no children. Among those with children, about half had only one child. There were 37 participants (84.1%) whose children do not yet attend school because
23 their kids are still very young or they have no children yet. There were 3 participants (6.8%) who have sent one kid to school. Only 2 participants (4.5%) had two children in school, and only 4.5% had three or more children in school. Analysis Results of Employee Benefits, Intrinsic Factors, and Employment Commitment Table 3 shows respondents’ levels of agreement with statements about employee benefits, and also their levels of satisfaction with specific benefits. Table 3 Level of Agreement with Statements about Employee Benefits Statements about Employee Benefits Mean Standard Deviation Level 1. I would like to know more about what employments benefits I am eligible to receive besides my salary. 3.84 1.10 High 2. I have access to a policy manual that describes my employment benefits. 3.59 0.84 High 3. My employing organization offers me the best employee benefits. 3.73 0.69 High 4. The employee benefits are not the reason for me to put my effort to complete the work. 3.64 0.94 High 5. I am satisfied with my outpatient medical benefits. 4.00 0.78 High 6. I am satisfied with my inpatient medical benefits. 4.09 0.64 High 7. I am satisfied with my dental and vision care benefits. 3.82 0.72 High 8. I am satisfied with my prescription medicines benefits. 3.79 0.88 High 9. I am satisfied with my educational subsidy benefits. 3.93 0.76 High 10. I am satisfied with my organization’s vacation policy. 3.79 0.79 High 11. I am satisfied with my travel expense benefits. 3.68 0.98 High Average Scores 3.80 0.85 High
24 The average scores of mean in Table 3 show that Adventist Employees seem agree with the statements at a high level, but there were still some who did not choose the high score. If each statement is examined separately, we can see that statement No. 2, with a mean score of 3.59, has the lowest agreement score in this table. This indicates that there are still many Adventist employees who don’t yet have access to the policy manual, which means that many employees might not know what employee benefits they will receive while working in an Adventist organization. Looking at the statements No. 5 and 6, we can see that their mean scores were the highest in this section (4.00 &4.09 respectively). This shows that most Adventist employees are very satisfied with their medical assistance, especially both outpatient and impatient medical benefits. The results from statements No. 7-13 in Table 3 also clarified that Adventist employees are generally satisfied with the different employment benefits that they receive. While not everyone may be happy with everything that the organizations offer, based on the mean scores for statements No.7-13, most respondents agreed that they were satisfied with their employee benefits. Table 4 shows the level of agreement with two negative statements about employee benefits. Table 4 Level of Agreement with Negative Statement on Employee Benefits Negative Statement Mean Standard Deviation Level 1. I am not satisfied with some of my organization’s employment benefits. 2.52 0.98 Average 2. If no employment benefits are given besides salary, then I won’t work on a long-term basis for an organization. 2.54 0.98 Average Average Scores 2.53 0.98 Average
25 Based on these two negative statements with average mean scores of 2.53, and based on the percentage of the participants responded to statement No. 1 on the data collection sheet, it shows that some employees (46%) disagreed with the statement. This means that Adventist employees were satisfied with their organizational employment benefits, 39% are not sure about their answers, and only 15% of participants were not satisfied with their employment benefits. Table 5 shows participant answers regarding intrinsic motivational factors, along with a descriptive analysis of these responses. Table 5 Level of Agreement with Statements about Intrinsic Factors Statements about Intrinsic Factors Means Standard Deviation Level 1. I do my job well because I am happy to do it. 4.34 0.61 Very High 2. My current job is the central interest in my life. 4.05 0.65 High 3. Helping other people in my work makes me happy. 4.34 0.57 Very High 4. When my work improves people’s lives, I am happier than when receiving my salary. 4.34 0.61 Very High 5. I enjoy socializing with my co-workers outside of the workplace. 4.05 0.78 High 6. My family are happy that I am working for God. 4.39 0.75 Very High 7. God’s blessings are more important to me than monetary rewards. 4.61 0.54 Very High 8. I put in a great deal of extra effort to help my organization without any expectation of rewards. 4.41 0.58 Very High 9. I feel like my contribution to the work of my organization is meaningful and recognized. 4.11 0.65 High 10. I am contented with my job because it is challenging. 4.18 0.62 High Average Scores 4.28 0.64 Very High
26 The average mean score (4.28) of items in Table 5 shows that the level of Adventist employees’ agreement with the importance of intrinsic factors was very high. The low standard deviation indicates that this view is held by most respondents. It shows that Adventist employees really work and commit themselves to their work because they are happy to do their jobs, and work with willing hearts for their organizations. Even though they need money or benefits, such benefits are not the most important matters that lead them to work for their organizations. The highest mean score was for statement No. 7 (4.61), indicated that Adventist employees work because of the blessings that they will receive from God, and not for monetary rewards. Their responses also clearly show (see statement No. 6), that even their families are happy that they are working for God. Many of them are happy with what they are doing in their jobs, as can be seen by looking at the high score given for Statement No. 1. On the other hand, by looking at Statements No. 2 and 5 with the same mean scores (4.05), the level of agreement with these two statements is the lowest. This shows that some Adventist employees don’t think that their current job is the central interest of their lives, and some don’t really like to socialize with their co-workers outside of the workplace. While they might spend time together in the office, but not outside of the workplace.
27 Table 6 shows a descriptive analysis of the level of employee commitment. Table 6 Level of Agreement with Statements about Employee Commitment Statements about Employee Commitment Means Standard Deviation Level 1. I am committed to my work without thinking of anything that I may receive. 4.02 0.66 High 2. I want to be a part of my organization’s success. 4.50 0.51 Very High 3. I feel like my employing organization’s problems are my own. 4.09 0.77 High 4. Because of my love for God and His church, I am committed to working for an Adventist organization 4.45 0.50 Very High 5. If I am committed to my work, my career can progress. 4.27 0.66 Very High 6. If I am committed to my work, I can grow as a person. 4.34 0.64 Very High 7. I believe in the mission of my employing organization. 4.30 0.63 Very High 8. Even if I am unhappy about something at work, I do not think about working for a non-Adventist organization. 4.09 0.83 High 9. I plan to always work for an Adventist organization. 4.05 0.86 High 10. I would recommend that my family and friends work for an Adventist organization. 4.09 0.74 High Average Scores 4.22 0.68 Very High The average mean score of 4.22 in Table 6 shows that most Adventist employees are highly committed to their work. This is not because of the employee benefits that they receive, but because they are committed to and love their jobs. Especially, when we look at the mean score for Statement No. 4 (4.45), the level for this statement is considered very high. This shows that most Adventist employees are committed because they love God’s work. Moreover, the mean score for Statement No. 2 (4.50) is at a very high level. It shows that they are really committed to their work
28 because they want to be part of the success of their organizations. In addition, the mean score of Statement No. 7 of 4.30 shows clearly that Adventist employees believe in the mission of their organizations. Not every employee will be satisfied what they have received from the organization; there will always be some employees who expect their organization to do something for them in order to motivate them to work or be more committed to their work. This can be seen in Statement 1, with a mean score of 4.02, which is high, but it illustrates that some employees think that they may get something from the organization if they are committed to their work. Moreover, Statements No. 9 and 10 with means of 4.05 and 4.09 respectively show that some employees do not plan to always work for an Adventist organization. Some would not recommend their workplace to their family members, which means that they are not happy with their organizations, even though they may be committed to their work. However, it does show that they are satisfied with some things about their organizations. Table 7 shows the average mean and standard deviations of each variable Table 7 Comparison of Average Mean and Standard Deviations for Each Variable Variable Mean Standard Deviation Level Employee Benefits 3.61 0.85 High Intrinsic Factors 4.28 0.64 Very High Employee Commitment 4.22 0.68 Very High Table 7 shows that the level of agreement with the Intrinsic Factors was at the highest level; this indicates that Adventist employees have their own strong intrinsic reasons as to why they work for Adventist organizations. It shows that the employees are willing to do this work and bring a positive influence to other people’s lives. The second highest mean was for employee commitment,
29 which shows that the employees enjoy their work because they can experience personal growth while working to serve God. Not only will they feel blessings from God, but they will also be blessed by serving others. Since the lowest mean was for employee benefits, this shows that many employees don’t rely on whether or not they will receive such benefits. Benefits are just like a bonus; if they have them, they will be grateful, but if they don’t receive them, it does not matter too much to them while they are working for an Adventist organization. Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Table 8 shows the correlations among the three variables that were studied. Table 8 Correlation among Variables (N = 44) Commitment Benefits Intrinsic Employee Commitment Pearson Correlation 1 -.123 .763** Sig. (2-tailed) .426 .000 Employee Benefits Pearson Correlation -.123 1 -.104 Sig. (2-tailed) .426 .504 Intrinsic Motivation Pearson Correlation .763** -.104 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .504 Note: ** p .01; * p .05 Table 8 shows that the correlation between intrinsic motivational factors and employee commitment was R = .763, which is statistically significant at the 0.01 level. However, only an insignificant negative correlation was found between employee benefits and employee commitment (-0.123). This indicates that the higher the level of importance attached to employee benefits, the lower the level of employee commitment.
30 Multiple Regression between Employee Benefits + Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment Table 9 shows the coefficients of the independent variables from a multiple regression analysis. Table 9 Coefficients among Employee Benefits, Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment Coefficient (a) Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients B Std. Error Beta t. Sig. (Constant) .998 .605 1.649 .107 Benefits -.045 .103 -.045 -.441 .662 Intrinsic .789 .106 .758 7.480 .000 Dependent Variable: Commitment; Note: ** p .01; * p .05 The Multiple Regression analysis in Table 10 indicates a significant positive relationship between intrinsic motivational factors and employee commitment, with a Beta = 0.758 and p-value <0.01. On the other hand, the relationship between employee benefits and employee commitment is negative with a Beta = -0.045 and an insignificant p-value of .662. Hypothesis Testing In this research, the data collected was analyzed to test the two hypothesizes. Hypothesis 1 H1A: Employee benefits have a positive influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. H10: Employee benefits have no influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos.
31 Hypothesis 2 H2A: Intrinsic motivation has a positive influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. H20: Intrinsic motivation has no influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. Summary Pearson Correlation Analysis, Simple Regression Analysis, and Multiple Regression Analysis all show that: a. Intrinsic motivation has a statistically significant positive influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. b. Employee benefits have no statistically significant influence on employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. Demographic Information of the Interviewees Information about interviewees includes gender, family status, age, the number of children they have, the number of their children who attend school, and their years of service as shown on the following page in Table 10.
32 Table 10 Demographic Information about Interviewees (N=8) Number of Participants Percentage of Participants Gender Male 6 75% Female 2 25% Family Status Single 1 12.5% Married 7 87.5% Age <=25 1 12.5% 26-35 3 37.5% 36-45 4 50% 46 => 0 0% No. of Children None 2 25% One 4 50% Two 1 12.5% Three or more 1 12.5% No. of Children Attending School None 7 87.5% One 0 0% Two 0 0% Three or more 1 12.5% Years of Service 3 Years – 5 Years 1 12.5% >5 years 7 87.5% Table 10 shows that the majority of participants who were interviewed were male (75%). Most of them (87.5%) have worked for the Laos Adventist Mission for 5 or more years, and the majority (87.5 %) were married. Half of the participants (50%) were 36-45 years of age, and (37%) were 26-35 years old. It can also be seen that 50% of participants have one child, 2 participants
33 (25%) have no children, and the rest had two or more. Of this number, 7 interviewees (87.5%) did not have children who attended school yet because they were still very young. Though not demographically representative of the population, the interviewees were chosen because the researcher could easily access them, which made him more comfortable in asking them deeper or sensitive questions. Secondly, these individuals had worked for SDA organizations for longer than other employees – mostly more than 5 years – so they probably had more experience with the various employee benefits. This would allow them to help me by explaining which benefits they liked and why, or which needed to be improved. Findings from the Interviews This section is the findings from the interviews which of questions refer to employee benefits, intrinsic motivation and employee commitment. Employee Benefits Some respondents said that benefits are very important because they support employee’s other expenses. They answer basic needs besides the salary since the salary is not very high. They also encourage us to work. Benefits are what many people need because they are just like financial assistance to the employees. They are supplementary sources which especially cover health care costs. One respondent said that benefits show how an organization cares for its employees, which helps employees to feel secure at a certain level. Six out of the 8 respondents mentioned that they like the medical assistance and health care coverage the most. There were some benefits that employees were not satisfied with; one was children’s educational aid for different reasons: Firstly, this assistance was provided only up to high school, and a second reason was that their children needed to attend private school. Some private schools are expensive, so they don’t want to send
34 their children to this kind of school because unlike government schools, their portion of the expenses is still very high. Intrinsic Motivation When respondents were asked about their intrinsic motivation to do their work, 7 of them answered “yes.” They were confident with their answers because they expressed that they were working for God, and that working for God is meaningful in ways like bringing souls to God. On the other hand, it was interesting that one person said “No”, who would have normally wanted to say “yes”, but because of unhappiness with an administrator, this caused doubt about the individual’s intrinsic motivation. Regarding how the employees rated their intrinsic motivation, 6 people rated their intrinsic motivation at 80%-100%; only 2 people rated themselves at 60%. Employee Commitment In regard to a question asking whether the employee was committed to the employing organization, 7 respondents seemed to say “yes” for different reasons. They were committed because the work was meaningful; it was a sacrificial work but they had dedicated themselves to bringing souls to God. The work brought an opportunity to provide education to people who needed it; there were opportunities for me to grow while I am working. One respondent mentioned that the organization is like working in a family environment. One also said that commitment was because of being chosen; if one refused, who would do it? Regarding question asking about how they rated their level of commitment, 6 respondents rated their commitment at 80%-100%; only two people rated themselves at 55%-60%.
35 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION Introduction Many studies have discussed about how employee benefits help and support workers in addition to their regular salary. Employee benefits are programs that employers use to supplement the cash compensation that employees receive, to protect the employee and his or her family from financial risks (Christoph, 1996). The interview data from this study revealed that employee benefits really help families to stretch their salaries and prevent the family from spending extra money. This is especially true in regard to health issues, which no one can predict when something might happen or how much it will cost at the hospital. It is really important for the Adventist employees to feel secure and leave their worries about unexpected expenses like health issues to the organization so they can focus on their work. Relationship between Employee Benefits and Employee Commitment From this study based on different variables, the results indicated that Adventist employees are generally happy with their organization’s employee benefits. But of course, some employees were not so happy with them, since some statements did not have very high mean/agreement scores. Information from the interviews also revealed that some employees were not pleased with certain benefits and wanted improvements in areas like public holidays and medical checkup allowances. This shows that not everyone is happy with the benefits that the organization is providing. For sure, it is impossible to satisfy everyone in the organization, but that does not mean that we should not try to solve these problems or that things should just be left as they are. When
36 the reasons for employee unhappiness with benefits are known, there are ways that improvements can be made and better ways can be found. On the other hand concerning Employee Commitment, the average mean scores show that most Adventist employees are firmly committed to their work without thinking of the benefits. Most of them believe that this is the work of God, that they are serving God, not humans, so the rewards that they will receive are from God. Besides that, Kulshrestha et al. (2022) found that commitment binds employees to their organizations, and may be seen in different ways such as a genuine belief in the organizational mission, values, and objectives. This research found that Adventist employees are strongly committed when their can see that their careers can progress while working for their organization. Statement 7 had a high mean score of 4.30 regarding their belief in their organizational mission. The results from the Simple Regression Analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between employee benefits and employee commitment. This means that employee benefits don’t affect the commitment of Adventist employees in Laos. In the interviews, Adventist employees did mention how important the benefits were for dealing with financial issues, even though they were not thinking of the benefits. When the employing organization provides benefits, they appreciate the organization even more, and they will try to improve their work because the benefits are extra support that encourages them besides their salary. From this study, it can be seen that most Adventist employees were happy with the employee benefits provided even though the benefits were not the main thing that led them to work there. Even though the employee benefits don’t seem to be have a major influence on whether the
37 employees would commit themselves to their work or not, but it is still important for organizations to provide these benefits to relieve their extra expenses. Relationship between Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment. Neuhaus (2021) emphasized that intrinsic motivation means doing something because we enjoy it based on our own interests or needs. In this research, the results show that Adventist employees are happy to do their jobs, and their jobs are the central interest of their lives with a high mean score. This indicates that they are very interested in doing their jobs well. They have a purpose in doing jobs that match with their own interests. For example, they love God and they love helping people, and that’s why they committed to their jobs. These interests lead them to work for their organizations without thinking about other rewards. The mean scores for each statement in the intrinsic factors section are at the very high and high levels, which indicated that most Adventist employees are intrinsically willing to work for an Adventist organization. Wainwright (2019) found that commitment means that employees have bonded with their company. They feel connected, feel that they belong and are part of such organizations, and feel that these are workplaces where they can really fit in. When employees are dedicated in this manner, they add greater value to their work because of the extra effort and determination that they put into their work. Based on the results in Table 6 regarding employee commitment, Statements number 2 and 3 had the highest mean scores. This shows that Adventist employees are committed to their work; they feel that they are a part of its success, and they see that their organization problems as their own problems.
38 Based on the interviews, some people are not satisfied with some of the benefits. For example, one employee (12.5%) was not happy with the public holidays because Adventist organizations don’t really follow the local public holidays. Based on the results from the Simple Regression Analysis between Intrinsic Factors and Employee Commitment, there was a positive relationship between both variables. It is true that if people don’t have any interest in their jobs, they won’t commit to do them. Adventist employees are strongly motivated by intrinsic factors as shown by their mean scores, which led them to commit themselves to their work. The interview findings showed that most Adventist employees were happy with their benefits package, but some people were not satisfied with some benefits. Even though this may not be a priority to them, it would still be better if the organization could improve some of the benefits that are given to the employees anyway. For example, one respondent did not really feel satisfied with the children’s educational assistance benefit because of restrictions regarding which schools the children could attend. This employee could only afford to send children to a private school if the family received a significant level of reimbursement for tuition expenses. In fact, some good private schools are expensive, and so this meant that the family had to pay more to cover the rest of the school fees. Knowledge about issues related to the policies is very important when the organization provides benefits. While giving benefits is good, it may not be enough if the organization does not have a good knowledge of such situations. It can be a bad thing for the organization if the benefits don’t seem fair to the employees and enable them to focus on doing their work.
39 CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS and DIRECTIONS for FUTURE RESEARCH Summary of Study This chapter summarizes the findings of the study on whether or not employee benefits affect employee commitment in Adventist organizations under LAM. The study found that employee benefits have no significant influence on employee commitment while intrinsic factors have a significantly positive influence on employee commitment. Since one of the research objectives was to look for the reasons for employee commitment, it was found that intrinsic motivational factors had a statistically significant influence on LAM’s employees’ commitment to their work. Conclusion It seems like Adventist employees don’t worry about their employee benefits or make them a priority in choosing to work for their organizations because they believe that this is the work that God wants them to do. Yes, they appreciate the employee benefits if they are provided, but it does not bother them if they don’t receive them from the beginning. They have willing hearts because they know what interests them in working for Adventist organizations. Without intrinsic factors or motivations, such organizations would face challenges in trying to maintain their staffs, since there are many competitors fighting for good and dedicated employees who don’t really care about employment benefits, even though they may really need them. In conclusion, benefits are not the most important matter that leads Adventist employees to be committed to their work, but intrinsic motivational factors have a stronger relationship to employee commitment.
40 Limitations Firstly, this research study targeted only full-time Adventist employees, as they were the only group which has access to policy documents and employee benefits. Part-time Adventist or non-Adventist employees do not receive employee benefits. Secondly, it was not possible to collect all the employees, especially those who live in the distance and they were not available to complete the survey. Lastly, another limitation to find the information for this data is that most of the respondents don’t have school aged children, their opinion or experience on educational assistance policy was still limited to share. Recommendations After analyzing the data, it became clear that Adventist employees don’t prioritize employment benefits when choosing their workplaces. But when an organization decide to provide such benefits, it also needs to improve them as a gesture of its care and responsibility towards its employees. In the struggle to retain good human resources, organizations compete for staff members with other companies. Therefore, it is good to take the initiative to offer good benefits to our staff to show them that we are really looking after our employees. Caring for its employees is a responsibility that organizations should have anyway. Caring and searching for needs that we can support is something that Adventist organizations should keep practicing. They should not wait for the employees to suffer first, but think ahead of time of providing what is necessary for their employees. This is a matter of helping to support their families’ burdens. The data results indicated that not every employee has access to the policy manual or employee benefits when they start working for an Adventist organization. It is best for an administrator or the human resource manager to provide new employees with the policy manual,
41 and go through the employee benefits very clearly with each employee. I believe that the employees who don’t know about the benefits will appreciate this gesture. It is better to let employees know what they are supposed to receive, rather than to wait until they find out by themselves that they should have received this or that benefit. They might not need benefits now, but no one knows how tough life may be or what they are going to face. Therefore, the human resource manager should make sure this happens in an interview, during the job review, or each time before renewing work contracts. One of the research objectives was about how leaders may increase employee commitment. Even though it was found that employee benefits do not have a significant influence on employee commitment, leaders still need to improve them because benefits can become important or necessary in the future, especially when they are really needed by the employees. Human resource leaders need to invest in employees who commit themselves to their work, and they need to receive good and fair employee benefits. Directions for Future Research Future research studies should include more Adventist Employees from different countries in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Base salaries in each country are not so different from one another, and each mission follows the same policy manual from the Southeastern Asia Union Mission. It would be good to target a wider population and have more perspectives from employees who work in different countries. I believe that some Adventist employees are open for a discussion on employee benefits, their commitment, and the role of intrinsic motivational factors. Would the findings be the same as in Laos or not?
42 APPENDIX 1 Survey Questions Impact of Employee Benefits and Intrinsic Factors on Employee Commitment Purpose: The purpose of this survey questionnaire is to examine how employee benefits and intrinsic factors impact employee commitment to Adventist organizations in Laos. Your confidentiality will be surely kept. Section A: Demographic Information Please tick on the box for each question. 1. Gender Male Female 2. Family Status Single Married Widowed/divorced 3. If you are married, does your spouse work? Yes No 4. If yes, where does your spouse work at? Adventist organization Non-Adventist organization 5. If yes, how much does your spouse work? Full-time Part-time 6. How old are you? <= 25 26-35 36-45 46 => 7. How many children do you have? None One Two Three or more