The impact of working environment on employee productivity: A case study of eoty group

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THE UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON DISSERTATION

Date of submission: 07/05/2023

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<b><small>2.2 Definition of work environment ... 5 </small></b>

<b><small>2.2.1 Physical Components of Work Environment ... 5 </small></b>

<b><small>2.2.2 Temperature ... 6 </small></b>

<b><small>2.2.3 Lighting ... 6 </small></b>

<b><small>2.2.4 Heavy lifting ... 6 </small></b>

<b><small>2.2.5 Noise ... 7 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3 Behavioral Elements of the Workplace ... 7 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3.1 Honest and Open Communication ... 8 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3.2 Balance between Work and life ... 8 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3.3 Emphasis on Training and Growth... 9 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3.4 Reward for Diligence ... 9 </small></b>

<b><small>2.3.5 Strong sense of teamwork ... 10 </small></b>

<b><small>2.6 Measuring Employee Productivity ... 14 </small></b>

<small>CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHOD ... 15 </small>

<b><small>3.1 Research Introduction ... 15 </small></b>

<b><small>3.2 Research Philosophy ... 16 </small></b>

<b><small>3.2.1 Positivism ... 17 </small></b>

<b><small>3.2.2 Pragmatism ... 18 </small></b>

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<b><small>3.2.4 Justification For The Chosen Research Philosophy ... 20 </small></b>

<b><small>3.3 Research Approaches To Theory Development ... 20 </small></b>

<b><small>3.6.2 Time Horizon – Cross-Sectional studies ... 28 </small></b>

<b><small>3.6.3 Selected Data Collection Method ... 28 </small></b>

<b><small>3.6.4 Sampling Description ... 28 </small></b>

<b><small>3.6.5 Justification and Information Needed for the Questionnaire ... 29 </small></b>

<small>CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ... 29 </small>

<b><small>4.1 Descriptive Data Analysis ... 29 </small></b>

<b><small>4.2 Qualitative Data Analysis (Open-Ended Questions) ... 37 </small></b>

<b><small>4.3 Evaluation of Research Question ... 43 </small></b>

<small>CHAPTER V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ... 44 </small>

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ABSTRACT

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to create a theoretical framework for the measurement of office productivity that is verified and contains variables that reflect both the physical environment and the behavioral environment. It is suggested that by using such a strategy, it will be possible to establish insights about the connectivity or dynamic character of the workplace environment. This essay's goal is to examine how different views might be used to examine how the workplace influences employees' productivity.

Methodology/ approach - The main strength of this study is based on the data set about the working environment and components within it in the relation with employees’ productivity.

Findings - This study demonstrates the need of comprehending the behavioral context in order to fully appreciate workplace efficiency. While this study examines the relationship between elements of the workplace and employees' productivity. Results are analyzed for specific work patterns, to establish meaning and relationships. It was found that poor infrastructure was perceived to be the component have the most negative effect and a positive behavioral working environment seem to have the most positive replies.

Research limitations/implications - This study demonstrates the need of comprehending the behavioral context in order to fully appreciate workplace efficiency. While this study examines the relationship between elements of the workplace and employees' productivity.

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CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

In an organization, three factors including physical condition, mental condition and social environment create the working environment (Jain and Kaur, 2014). These elements have a significant impact because the ideal workplace atmosphere inspires workers or office employees to put forth their best effort, add the most value possible, and support the general success of the company. The success of the workforce depends on the workplace culture. Given the large number of employment possibilities available to workers today, the working environment plays a critical role in determining whether they accept and/or continue in their positions. The standard of the workplace might be the only factor in determining an employee's motivation, output, and productivity. How well employees get along with the organization affects their error rates, level of innovation and teamwork, absenteeism, and eventually their term of employment. Therefore, senior managers and HR managers must have an appropriate plan for attracting and keeping talented employees in their organization. Some organizations believe that high salaries and good compensation would be the best strategy for attracting and retaining their employees; and ignores the physical working environment. However, physical working conditions show a strong influence on the capability to recruit potential employees.

The fact that many firms' working conditions may not be safe, healthy, or comfortable due to factors including excessive noise, insufficient ventilation, bad lighting, and overzealous emergency response, even though comfortable working environments are essential for improving output quality and productivity. Massoudi and Hamdi, (2017) share the same view as working in uncomfortable settings can lead to poor performance and occupational illnesses that increase absenteeism and attrition. Employees who see their workplace negatively may encounter short-term (such as failing to adjust to

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the job) and long-term (such as health issues) issues that prohibit them from performing their jobs effectively (Ali et al., 2013). According to Pech and Slade (2006), employee disengagement is on the rise, making it even more important to establish settings that benefit the workforce. In organizational psychology, the physical, mental, and social environment has a great influence on employee productivity. Meanwhile, an organization's productivity and quality of work are highly dependent on employee performance. Employees require a healthy working environment that enables them to be productive to reach work standards and be ready to add to the business. (Tio, 2014). Therefore, it can be concluded that employee productivity is one of the greatest assets of any organization and the working environment element is considered to be one of the most important things.

The study includes an investigation of the EOTY GROUP company's workplace in Vietnam. Investigating whether there is a connection between workplace circumstances and employee performance is the goal of this study. On the firm's employees, a survey is conducted.

1.1. Research Problem:

Nowadays, organizations from small to big companies are paying more attention to their employees’ working environment as they want to create a comfortable workplace so that employees will produce better outcomes. Many scholars have indicated that physical conditions and behavioral environment play a vital role in boosting employees’ and a company’s outcome. This research aims to explore the physical and behavioral elements of workplace environment dimensions.

Research Questions:

1. Does the quality of employees' performance have any bearing on the elements of the office environment?

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2. Which element of the workplace? Employee productivity is more impacted by behavior or physical health.

3. Which aspects of the two office environment components significantly affect employees' performance levels?

1.2. Research Aims

The author chose to study this topic due to the statement stated by Massoudi and Hamdi (2017) that working circumstances in many firms may provide a lack of safety, health, and comfort difficulties including inappropriate lighting and ventilation, excessive noise, and emergency excess, which are necessary for enhancing productivity and the quality of outputs. Working in uncomfortable settings can lead to poor performance and occupational illnesses that increase absenteeism and attrition.

This topic was selected with the rationale of applying previous experience as an unofficial employee and a recruiter of the author within the earlier adopted company. In this study, the author aims to have a deeper understanding of the internal working environment of the adopted company to clarify the root of the cause for all the problems the company is encountering with.

1.3. Research Objectives

The objectives of this paper are:

 To ascertain whether a worker's performance and the workplace environment are related.

 To learn more about the importance of the office setting for businesses.

 To list the components that influence the workplace and boost employees' productivity.

 To summarize research results for the validation of the suggested framework.

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CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review seeks to evaluate the impact of the work environment in the form of physical and behavioral environment, about employee productivity within a firm. To set up the impact of the working environment on employee productivity within a company, in particular, in an office environment. The topic of how a workplace affects an employee's productivity needs to be addressed in its entirety. Many academics have debated and researched this for a very long time. This study intends to critically analyze the practical results by performing empirical qualitative research in the form of surveys (questionnaires) with the adopted business, within or connected to the work environment category, even though there is still no specific measurement for employee productivity globally.

2.1. Work environment

A working environment is comprised of elements such as social aspects and physical conditions where a person does their job. The workplace environment has a great impact on the outcome or the productivity of the employee as well as social exchange relationships within an organization. Dul, J. and Ceylan, C., (2011) indicated that the work environment can be distinguished into two conditions which are physical conditions and social-organizational conditions. Moreover, (Haynes, 2008) proposed that there are two components when discussing the office environment which is the physical and behavioral environment. Furthermore, context is the second and last factor within the working environment, affecting employee productivity deeply that consists of two conditions which are physical and social working. (Sousa-Poza & Sousa-Poza, 2000; Gazioglu & Tanselb, 2006; Skalli,

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choosing a company to work with and is mostly the first factor to be considered by people looking for jobs.

2.2 Definition of work environment

According to Raziq and Maulabakhsh (1995), a job's many facets, including how it is carried out and completed, the tasks involved, training, control over one's duties at work, a sense of achievements from one's work, diversity in jobs, and the intrinsic value of a task, are all part of the workplace environment.

2.2.1 Physical Components of Work Environment

A Danish study suggested that an organization might improve the physical characteristics of its workplace, which might have a positive impact on the organization's productivity(Buhai, Cottini, & Nielseny, 2008). As stated by Stallworth and Kleiner (1996), to improve efficiency and pleasure, an organization's physical architecture is increasingly planned around the demands of its employees.

Statt (1994) asserts that technology, such as computers and other devices, along with standard furniture and design, dominates the physical features of the modern office. To attain high levels of staff efficiency, organizations must ensure that the physical environment satisfies organizational needs for permitting contact and privacy, formality and informality, functionality, and cross-disciplinarity. In light of the foregoing, it is conceivable to use the physical environment as a tool to enhance both business performance (Mohr, 1996) and employee well-being (Huang, Robertson, and Chang, 2004). Better dedication and productivity are produced when employees have access to equipment and suitable facilities. Poor and outdated equipment and unfavorable working conditions have a negative effect on employee commitment, intention to remain with the company,

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perceptions of pay equity, and job productivity, according to research (Weiss, 1999; Wise, Hammond, and Berry, 1987) (Bockerman and Ilmakunnas, 2006).

Darling-Furthermore, as proposed by Massoudi and Hamdi (2017) people started to look deeper into the physical working environment such as temperature, lighting, heavy lifting, and noise. It can be seen that there is a rising awareness of job seekers or employees on finding suitable physical conditions which will benefit them and perhaps the company’s output as well.

2.2.2 Temperature

Employers should maintain a comfortable temperature for their staff. Although many individuals have their own tastes in hot and cold weather, a poor work environment can have a detrimental impact on employees' performance. When giving employees outside work, employers need to take into account how much time they will spend in the sun, rain, or snow. Enough precautions must be in place to limit the harmful effects of working under difficult situations.

2.2.3 Lighting

People may have to strain their eyes to see items if there is insufficient lighting, which might result in eye fatigue. This is especially important for those who often utilize computers for work-related tasks. When seeing contrasts between dark and light areas on a computer screen, people may have headaches. Businesses may improve poor lighting by adding light diffusers and covering windows with drapes.

2.2.4 Heavy lifting

The risk of injury increases with repeated heavy lifting. Correct lifting procedures must be employed.

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lifting technique. Employers have access to equipment and supplies that make lifting objects easier. The detrimental impacts of this physical work environment component can be lessened when employees are appropriately trained.

2.2.5 Noise

Employees may experience stress and exhaustion as a result of increased noise levels at work. Carpeting is suggested as a way to reduce noise in a space. In an office, hard surfaces function as sound reflectors and increase the volume of anything impacting them. Office equipment may also make a lot of noise. This can be managed with the aid of sound-absorbing barriers. Between 55 and 65 dB is the recommended sound level for office work.

2.3 Behavioral Elements of the Workplace

Employee productivity is influenced by a variety of factors, including behavioral aspects in addition to the physical working environment. The term "behavioral environment" refers to everything that influences how employees engage with their job, such as relationships with coworkers and management, company culture, chances for personal development, etc. Employee motivation is increased when they feel good about going to work, which creates a great work environment. This may be where you would work for a long time in the future, so it should include some certainties in consideration of choosing a positive workplace. It was contended that by permitting open communication across departmental boundaries, new workplaces may be created to promote knowledge exchange and networking independent of job boundaries. Unpleasant and stress in a job show a connection to the internal environment that has an impact on productivity. According to Haynes (2008), the behavioral components of the workplace environment have a greater influence

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the transmission of transactional knowledge. As Govindarajulu (2004) proposed, strategic approaches are being taken to manage workplace environments to boost productivity by improving the performance level of employees.

According to (Massoudi and Hamdi, 2017), there are components that contribute to the feelings of employees toward the place they work which are honest and open communication, a balance between work and life, an emphasis on training and growth, rewards for diligence, and a strong sense of teamwork.

2.3.1 Honest and Open Communication

An employee's desire to believe their input matters is essentially met by an open and honest communication style. It is what gives employees a sense of community within the company. Work, therefore, takes on a more meaningful quality since employees are aware of how their contributions influence the company to which they are connected. To ensure that everyone is aware of the organization's aims beyond simply earning a paycheck, it is important for workers to sometimes discuss the organization's purpose and principles during meetings and other events. Open discussions promote involvement and provide everyone the chance to voice their ideas for achieving corporate goals.

2.3.2 Balance between Work and life

There must be some sort of balance between work and personal life. If employees feel that their lives are balanced, it will typically lead to higher job satisfaction since they won't feel as though they are neglecting other facets of their lives that are equally as essential as or even more so than their employment. When their needs and goals in life are met, employees may feel more confident in

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themselves and perform at their highest level on the work. Goudswaard (2012) emphasized the importance of work-life balance, psychological factors that affect motivation, social discourse, management and leadership coherence, and transparency; create a positive workplace, and a positive workplace increases organization productivity. The productivity of employees will grow by maintaining the working environment up to a certain threshold level, and afterward will decline if workload increases from above a certain threshold level, according to (Yasin Sheikh Ali et al, 2013)

2.3.3 Emphasis on Training and Growth

Organizations must stay current with changes and train their staff properly in a time when change is more prevalent than ever. For instance, technology is developing so quickly that tools that businesses used often 10 years ago, such as Zip drives and dial-up modems, may be rendered obsolete today. Today, more than ever, it is crucial to adapt and evolve since those who don't are replaced. This has an impact on both the person and the business. A company that prioritizes training and development will have a well-defined strategy in place for the growth of its employees, which will support and increase productivity as a whole..

2.3.4 Reward for Diligence

Rewarding behavior is necessary to get individuals to take certain behaviors. Effective reinforcement in operant conditioning is the term used in psychology to describe this. It is also used in corporate management, where rewarding employees who put forth effort can encourage the recurrence of the same behaviors.

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2.3.5 Strong sense of teamwork

We naturally go to our peers for support and a sense of belonging since we are social beings. When conditions are bad, the group should get together to address any issues that may arise. At this point, the team begins to feel more united and the employees stop feeling like they are only working for themselves. They are now collaborating on a project that is greater than themselves.

Sometimes, the social environment brings more benefits, and fewer risks and might increase cooperation between parties within the organization. As can be seen in (Massoudi and Hamdi, 2017) research paper mentioned that If an employee's work is recognized, it will lead to more of the same behavior in the future. Here, a reward need not be monetary in nature; occasionally, only a verbal commendation from the manager is sufficient to boost the workers' drive. When effort is appropriately recognized and acknowledged by management, employees will naturally feel appreciated by the organization for the work they put in. Olson (2002) asserted that the vast majority of research that makes an effort to tackle the psychological context is conceptual and experiential in character, with little evidence to back it up. However, according to Haynes (2008), there seems to be a developing understanding of how the social environment affects occupiers' efficiency.

However, most of the company from small to medium still ignores the working conditions of their employee and mainly focus on sales and profit,… As mentioned by Spector (1997), the majority of organizations fail to take care of their workers' working conditions, which has a negative impact on their productivity. Engagement in the company's processes for making decisions, employment security, close connections with coworkers, recognition of outstanding work, and a drive to succeed are further elements he listed (Spector, 1997). This demonstrates a connection to the Social

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interest in their employees, social exchange links grow and have favorable outcomes. The social exchange relationship serves as a mediator or intervening factor, to put it another way: Through beneficial and equitable interactions, strong connections foster effective work behavior and a positive work environment. This results in a favorable consequence that will have an impact on social interaction and relationships between employers and employees inside the firm..

In other words, once an individual receives care, benefits, or recognition they deserve from their employers, the managers will be responded positively in many ways such as employees willing to do overtime, and working with a comfortable mind will result in an excellent result. Gergen (1969) elaborated that when someone provides a benefit, the recipient should return the favor. It shows that social working conditions also play an important role as well as physical conditions within every organization. Even though, there has been a debate about this issue of the physical or mental environmental effect on office productivity; The consensus seems to be that any measure of efficiency is better than none, despite the fact that there does not appear to be a single technique for measuring workplace or workplace efficiency (Whitley et al., 1996; Oseland, 1999, 2004; Leaman and Bordass, 2000).

2.4 Employee Productivity

Increasing functional and corporate efficiency, including value, is what Dorgan (1994) defines as productivity. Productivity measures the efficiency with which an organization (or individual, enterprise, or nation) converts its input resources (people, raw materials, equipment, etc.) into finished goods and services. In contrast, Rolloos (1997) defined productivity as the ability to produce with a minimal amount of labor. The number of units generated by every staff member per hour can

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departures, and breaks (Leblebici, 2012). In some cases, employee productivity can also be assessed through performance growth. Employee productivity, also known as employee efficiency, is a way to gauge how productive an individual or a group of individuals is. An employee's production over a certain time period might be used to gauge productivity. A worker's productivity is frequently judged in comparison to the average of workers who perform similar tasks to their own. Moreover, goal-setting, performance evaluation, a clearly defined procedure, and supervisor support are four other aspects that might affect an employee's productivity. Employee productivity is an important factor for businesses to take into account because it directly affects the performance of any corporation. There does not appear to be an agreement on what defines office occupier productivity, let alone a set method for calculating it, despite the fact that staff efficiency has been discussed for a very long time. This is thus because inputs and outputs both affect productivity. Assessing productivity is more challenging, according to Haynes (2008), because office employees' outputs can differ greatly from one another. It is conceivable to draw a connection between the wide range of outputs produced by office workers and the wide range of diverse sorts of work carried out in the office setting, with a rising emphasis on knowledge work.

2.5 Factors Affect Employee Productivity 2.5.1 Goal Setting

The aforementioned attributes of effective objectives will probably promote the work style actions to take place more often. They support the development of a commitment to the organization's aims and objectives, which motivates staff to go further than what is required of them (Morrisey, 1977). As long as the objectives are accepted, specific goals are more successful than generic ones,

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for effective goal-setting (Erez et al., 1985; Latham and Yukl, 1975). Goal-setting in businesses serves two crucial functions: motivating employees to perform at greater levels of effectiveness and directing their behavior (Richards, 1978).

2.5.2 Perform Feedback

The mechanism between the employee and the supervisor for exchanging information and resolving disputes. While the supervisor communicates his or her own opinions and requests, the employee is free to offer feedback on their own needs. Despite the fact that this process is formal, it could potentially be done informally by fostering better relationships among the participants. (Chandrasekar, 2011)

2.5.3 Defined Process

The company needs to identify the factors that drive employee motivation and has put in place both official and informal mechanisms to recognize and reward workers who behave in the expected ways.

Intrinsic benefits, like as completing challenging tasks, and external advantages, like higher income and peer recognition, can all be included in incentives (Chandrasekar, 2011).

2.5.4 Supervisor support

In order to build positive connections and increase confidence among staff members, supervisors' interpersonal skills are essential (Chandrasekar, 2011). In order to succeed in their current roles and move further into future ones, employees have access to recognized specialists.

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2.6 Measuring Employee Productivity

First, in the traditional theory of the firm, productivity is calculated as the size of output per unit of input, where P=Y/t(K,L) denotes the technological conditions of production, Y denotes output of uniform quality, K denotes capital stock, Li denotes labor, and Pi denotes productivity.

The most glaring issue with this metric is that "labor, capital, and materials are all potential substitutes for each other," making it simple to raise the productivity of one item by substituting it with another. Many businesses, particularly in the US, now recognize that focusing solely on direct labor costs is inaccurate and that "efficient productivity measurement necessitates the development of a measure that determines the influence of each factor during manufacturing and then tracks and combines them."(Green, 1993).

In the productivity equation, it is assumed that output is a measured product of uniform and consistent quality. As a result, the conventional approach, by definition, excludes the possibility of differences in quality, rendering productivity comparisons useless and casting doubt on the efficacy of quality improvement initiatives from the standpoint of productivity assessment.

The challenge is exacerbated when various outputs are produced in varying amounts and of varying quality, or when these outputs comprise a stream of services rather than a single identifiable manufactured product.

Input contributions, such as labor, can be quantified independently. However, it has been discovered that it is "impractical to quantify the direct contribution of labor, as distinct from the impacts of technological improvements in the use of other resources..." (Mitchell, 1972).

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Employers buy not workers' labor but just their ability to do labor, and the employment contract remains 'open-ended' in this sense. Productivity differences between firms with equivalent technology may therefore be attributed to "management's success or failure in arranging connections inside manufacturing in a way that is conducive to the achievement of high output and high profitability"

This section aims to elaborate the approach to the measurement of productivity. However, this approach knowledge will not be adopted in this paper in consideration of its appropriation.

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHOD 3.1 Research Introduction

To provide a relevant and appropriate result, a suitable research method will be presented to clarify the research objectives. The paper will use the research framework designed by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009) to present the study findings as accurately as possible. The figure below will display the methodologies, some of which will be applied to this research.

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Figure 3.1 Research Onion

<i>Source: 2018 Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, and Adrian Thornhill </i>

3.2 Research Philosophy

It is profoundly notable that research philosophy is a phrase for a set of presumptions and ideas about how knowledge is created. Notice or not throughout the research process scholars, and researchers all make all kinds of assumptions when developing knowledge about a specific area or particular organization. Regarding the assumptions, according to Crotty (2000), these include presumptions about the facts met throughout the study (ontological assumptions), the nature of human understanding (epistemological presumptions), and the degree and nature of own values' effect on the research process (axiological assumptions). These presumptions inexorably influence how the research topics, the techniques that are being employed, and how the study

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findings are being interpreted. In this paper, positivism, interpretivism, and pragmatism as the research philosophy methods will be focused on.

3.2.1 Positivism

The approach taken by natural scientist's philosophical viewpoint known as positivism entails using observed social phenomena to produce generalizations that resemble rules. It delivers specific and definite knowledge and is taken from the works of the Vienna Circle, a group of intellectuals and scientists from the beginning of the twentieth century, as well as Francis Bacon and Auguste Comte. This demonstrates the positivist focus on a strict scientific empiricist process intended to provide precise information that is free from bias or human interpretation. From an epistemological perspective, the production of trustworthy and important data would depend on focusing on finding observable and measurable facts and patterns, and only occurrences that can be observed and measured (Crotty 1998). For the majority of positivist researchers, it is essential to analyze studies and data from an objective and fair perspective in order to avoid distorting the results. This suggests conducting the research with the goal of being as value-free as possible. Given the quantitative, measurable facts acquired, positivists may make a case for this point of view. They claim that they are not involved in the data collection process since there is nothing that can be done to alter the nature of the data that has been collected.

Therefore, this method of philosophy is considered to be profoundly suitable to adopt in analyzing environmental factors in this paper.

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3.2.2 Pragmatism

Goles and Hirschheim (2000) first developed the pragmatic approach to information systems. Agerfalk (2010) and Baskerville and Myers (2004) are two authors who have highlighted the importance of pragmatism to information systems. It should be noted that information systems are generally seen as a practical discipline with a concentration on practical applications, theory, and research is strongly emphasized by these scholars.

According to pragmatism, concepts are only important when they make it easier to do action (Kelemen and Rumens 2008). In the USA, pragmatism originally arose in the works of the thinkers Charles Pierce, William James, and John Dewey in the latter part of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries. Subjectivism and objectivism, values and knowledge, accurate and thorough information, and numerous contextualized experiences are all intended to be balanced. This is done by considering theories, concepts, ideas, hypotheses, and research findings not just in an abstract form but also in regards to their roles as instruments for both thought and behavior as well as the real-world repercussions they have in specific circumstances.

Undertaking pragmatism research would mean that the research topic intended to solve and the research question will be the two most crucial factors in determining the study design and technique. The pragmatic emphasis on beneficial outcomes would, in turn, likely be included in the research question (Saunders et al, 2007). Pragmatists understand of the fact that there are a number of ways to see the world and perform research, that no single viewpoint can ever give the whole story, and that there can be numerous realities. This does not imply that pragmatists always use a variety of approaches; rather, They use whichever approach or methodologies make it possible to gather

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reliable, solid, dependable, and appropriate data that advances the research (Kelemen and Rumens 2008).

3.2.3 Interpretivism

Interpretivism emerged as a subjectivist critique of positivism, much like critical realism did. Interpretivism highlights how people differ from physical happenings because they create meaning. These connotations are studied by interpretivists. The three primary schools of interpretivism—hermeneutics, phenomenology, and symbolic interactionism—were developed in early and mid-20th century Europe in the writings of German, French, and occasionally English thinkers (Crotty 1998).

Since individuals and their social settings cannot be studied in the same way as physical phenomena, interpretivism contends that social science research in these fields must be unique from that in the natural sciences rather than aiming to duplicate it. Because various individuals from different cultural backgrounds, under different circumstances, and at various points in time make different meanings and thus generate and interact with different social realities, interpretivists are critical of positivist attempts to identify distinct, all-encompassing "laws" that apply to everyone. Instead, contending that if human complexity is reduced to a set of universal laws, valuable insights into mankind are lost.

The interpretivism theory requires an empathic stance on the researcher's behalf. A challenge for interpretivism is entering the social milieu of the study subjects and understanding it from their point of view (Saunders et al., 2007). Some people believe that studying managerial and business subjects is best done using the interpretive approach. Business scenarios are typically challenging and isolated, at least in terms of context. They accurately depict a sequence of interactions and events involving people who cross paths at a specific moment.

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3.2.4 Justification For The Chosen Research Philosophy

Positivism is a kind of research philosophy that focuses on having a neutral as much as possible and most of the time, it detaches from the data and findings. As this paper will conduct a survey, it will be efficient to adopt positivist research philosophy.

It may be utilized current theory to create hypotheses as a positivist researcher. These claims offer speculative explanations that can be verified or rejected in whole or in part, leading to the formation of new theories that might then be put to the test through more study. This does not, however, imply that it must begin with an established theory if you're a positivist. In order to establish and test hypotheses, the natural sciences first engaged with the outside world by gathering data and making observations.(Saunders, 2007)

3.3 Research Approaches To Theory Development

The deductive approach and the inductive approach are two styles of research methods that are frequently employed in research papers.

According to Ketokivi and Mantere (2010), deductive analysis is the process of rationally deducing a conclusion from a set of premises that have been extracted from a theory. The conclusion is accurate if and only if every one of the assumptions is true. As opposed to deductive reasoning, where a finding is "judged" to be backed up by the discoveries made, inductive reasoning creates a logical gap between the conclusion and what has been observed.

3.3.1 Deduction

It involves developing a theory, which is subsequently put to the test against a variety of claims.

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basis for an explanation, allows for the anticipation of events, allow for the forecasting of their occurrence, and then allow for the management of those events.

According to Blaikie (2010), a logical method will advance via the following six consecutive steps:

1. Create a theory by presenting a hypothetical idea, a premise, a hypothesis (a tested claim about the relationship between two or more ideas or variables), or a set of hypotheses.

2. From the body of recent literature or by explaining the conditions under which the theory is predicted to hold, derive a testable claim or collection of assertions.

3. Examine the underlying assumptions and the logic of the argument to see if it improves knowledge. Then compare it to other ideas. If that's the case, continue.

4. Assemble the data required to quantify the concepts or variables, then examine them to test the hypothesis.

5. If the results of the analysis contradict the premises, the theory must be abandoned or modified, and the process must be repeated.

6. If the conclusions of the analysis support the assumptions, the hypothesis is verified..

Deduction necessitates that concepts be operationalized in a way that allows for the frequent quantitative quantification of facts (Saunders et al., 2007The highest kind of deduction is a generalization. To be able to generalize, our sample must be properly chosen and sufficiently large.

Given that the deductive technique is a scientific one that places an emphasis on structure, quantification, generalizability, and testable hypotheses, the positivist research philosophy is most likely to support it.

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3.3.2 Induction

As was said previously, inquiry in the natural sciences is where deduction first emerged. However, since the emergence of the social sciences in the twentieth century, the deduction has grown to be a source of worry for social science researchers. They objected to a line of thinking that allowed one to create a cause-and-effect connection between some variables without considering how individuals understand their social surroundings. Building such an understanding is, of course, where an inductive approach finds its strength.

Deduction tends to develop a rigorous approach that prohibits alternate explanations for what is happening, which is why supporters of induction oppose it. The choice of theory and the creation of the hypothesis have a sense of completion in this regard. An alternative hypothesis may be suggested as a result of deduction. However, these would be subject to the rigorous research design's limitations. The background of these events is probably going to be a big part of research that uses an inductive way of thinking. As a consequence, a smaller sample of respondents may be more suitable than the large number of persons studied using the deductive method. In order to develop multiple viewpoints on events, researchers in this school are more likely to use qualitative data and a variety of approaches to gather them.

3.3.3 Justification For The Chosen Research Approach

In terms of justification for the choice of inductive and deductive approaches, it is clear that these approaches have their own strength and appropriation for different research strategies. Induction is a method of learning patterns or comprehending the meanings people give to events, obtaining a deeper comprehension of the context of the research, and gathering qualitative data are all part of

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quantitative data, testing theories and hypotheses, elucidating causal relationships between variables, applying controls to ensure the validity of the data, and choosing adequate sample sizes to draw conclusions).

3.4 Descriptive Method

An elementary research technique is the descriptive research approach, which analyzes the situation as it is right now. In descriptive research, characteristics of an observed phenomenon are identified, or correlations between two or more occurrences are investigated (William, 2007). The correlational, developmental, observational, and survey research methods are employed in descriptive research. Additionally, exploratory and causal-comparative studies may make use of these research techniques to varying degrees. In this paper, the descriptive method will be adopted.

3.5 Research Strategy 3.5.1 Quantitative

In order to address relationship queries of study variables, quantitative research might be performed. "Quantitative researchers look for theories and forecasts that have a ripple effect on other people and locations. The goal is to create generalizations that advance theory and to establish, confirm, or validate linkages (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001). A problem statement serves as the starting point for quantitative research, which also includes the development of a hypothesis, a literature study, and a quantitative data analysis.

By "the overall strategy the researcher takes in conducting the research project," Leedy & Ormrod (2001) identify research methodology. In quantitative research, data are gathered so that information can be measured and statistically analyzed to either confirm or refute "alternate

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knowledge claims" (Creswell, 2003). According to Creswell (2002), chemistry and physics, in particular, are the birthplaces of quantitative research. In addition to data collecting, which is frequently numerical, quantitative research also comprises data analysis, typically using mathematical frameworks as the approach. Furthermore, the researcher uses inquiry techniques to guarantee consistency with quantitative data collection techniques (William, 2007).

Researchers that employ the quantitative paradigm maintain a distance from the persons and social phenomena they are studying in order to be as impartial as feasible. Quantitative research, according to Teherani et al. (2015), is based on positivist notions that a single reality exists and can be recognized by employing the proper experimental methods.

Many people have suggested that the difference between qualitative and quantitative research is how much time and money are used. On the one hand, since the necessary instruments aren't always available, quantitative techniques could occasionally fail when it comes to measuring specific knowledge, attitudes, and actions. Conducting scientific research to develop scales or questionnaire questions that are valid and reliable requires time and money.

Furthermore, it sometimes takes longer for researchers who conduct assessments to develop quantitative measures that are appropriate and affordable than it does for basic researchers to hypothesize correlations between attitudes and behaviors related to health (Steckler et al., 1992).

3.5.2 Qualitative

According to Teherani et al. (2015), qualitative research starts off with a fundamentally different set of premises or paradigms than quantitative research does.

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The qualitative paradigm examines relevant social problems using anthropological research methods. Investigators who use qualitative methods immerse themselves completely in the culture they are studying by taking part in activities, collecting personal histories, interviewing notable individuals, developing case studies, examining existing materials, and/or observing people as they interact (Steckler et al, 1992). The goal of qualitative data collecting is to get an "insider's" viewpoint from the group being investigated.

Similar criticisms might also be made about qualitative data collecting and analysis techniques, which, although initially less expensive, ultimately demand a lot of time and effort (Steckler et al, 1992).

3.5.3 Justification For The Chosen Research Method

In this research, a quantitative approach will be adopted in terms of the way collecting data

Quantitative research also makes it possible to evaluate a wide range of variables, some of which may be connected or impact one another, allowing the researcher to examine many variables in relation to the research issue. Within these constraints, equipment or questionnaires can be used in various study areas, allowing for more thorough results. (McCusker and Gunaydin, 2015).

Moreover, a quantified model can be really useful in terms of analyzing policy for a company or an organization when there are some problems that occur in their workplace. The factor of efficiency is incorporated inside quantitative research techniques, as this work has already been said several times. It has also been noted that because the quantitative technique has the capacity to collect significant volumes of data in a short amount of time, the distribution of time assets may be handled more successfully when it is used.

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The capacity of organizations to take action on the results and develop sound policies based on generalized statistical data is another feature of the study's methodology. Investigating current issues and emerging trends, for example in the area of general well-being, maybe a legitimate research aim that can help decision-makers in human services organizations create "informed" policies. According to a review of both research approaches, which supports this claim, "quantified models can be useful tools for policy evaluation under appropriate conditions." (McCusker and Gunaydin, 2015).

A questionnaire, as defined, is only a collection of printed or mimeographed questions that are filled out by or for a respondent to express his view.

The primary method used to gather quantitative primary data is through a questionnaire. A questionnaire makes it possible to gather quantitative data in a consistent manner, ensuring that the results are internally consistent and coherent for analysis. It must be obvious from the start how the

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results will be utilized, and every questionnaire should have a specific goal connected to the study's goals.

When resources are limited, a questionnaire is used because it can be designed and administered for relatively little money and takes up a lot of time. It also protects participant privacy because participants will only provide truthful responses if their identities are kept secret and confidentiality is upheld. Finally, it can be used to confirm other findings because questionnaires can be helpful confirmation tools when they are used to confirm other findings. (Roopa and Rani, 2012).

 Open-ended Questions

There are no recommended alternatives or preset categories. The respondent responds in their own terms, unrestricted by a predetermined range of potential answers. Open-ended inquiries come in several forms.

a. Completely unorganized response, such as "What are your thoughts on questionnaires?"

b. Word association: When given a list of words, the respondent says the first word that springs to mind.]

 Close-ended Questions

The responses provided by respondents are restricted to a predetermined set.

Scales tend to be closed-ended. Examples of several closed-ended inquiries are:

a. Answering the questions with a "yes" or "no" is the first type of question.

Have you ever been to the dentist, for instance?

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b. Multiple choice: The respondent is presented with a number of options.

How would you evaluate this product, for example? Outstanding, Positive, Average, Poor, or any combination thereof

c. Scaled questions—Responses are rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most favored sight. For instance, rate the way the item looks on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most preferred look.

The Likert scale and Semantic Differential Scale are a few examples of distinct scales.

3.6.2 Time Horizon – Cross-Sectional studies

The author used cross-sectional research to explain the incidence and expound on factors associated with a specific phenomenon; working environment on employee productivity. Due to time constraints and data gathering, the author chose a survey containing quantitative data connected to the area at this moment in order to detect present and future trends.

3.6.3 Selected Data Collection Method

During the respondents' responses, they will be asked a variety of open-ended and closed-ended questions. The open-ended questions will be evaluated in order to determine the “what” question. The researcher can assess and discriminate between the features described within the study framework by employing a questionnaire.(Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2009)

3.6.4 Sampling Description

To fulfill the research aims, the author chose to use a heterogeneous purposive nonprobability sampling strategy in his empirical study, evaluating varied situations within a small sample (Patton, 2002). The study intends to shed light on major subjects based on certain selection standards. Patton

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(2002) attributes the author's uniqueness in critical practical and theoretical conclusions generated from a small number of studies to the author's diversified purposive relevance. Because a survey is conducted in the form of a questionnaire with a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions, statistical generalizations about the results can be produced.

3.6.5 Justification and Information Needed for the Questionnaire

As discussed above, the author has selected to use a mixed method quantitative research method including a semi-structured questionnaire, aiming to use pre-defined standardized questions related to specific variables. The method is considered to bring the benefits of generating a large amount of data in a short period of time through closed-ended and open-ended questions.

CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 4.1 Descriptive Data Analysis

Section I: This section focus on discussing the survey results using the Descriptive analysis method. In the first section, Demographic Information will be examined.

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Table 3: Education Level

Education Level Frequency %

In Table 2 (Age Range), it is apparent that the age range varies from 20 to over 40 years old. This provides a wide range of opinions as these respondents have from a few to many years of experience.

Looking at Table 3 (Education Level), most of the respondents are Working so the information they provide in terms of working environment would be more reliable. In support of those opinions, Table 4 (Work Seniority) shows the years of experience these respondents had.

Section II: Work Place Environment Factors

<b>Table 4: Work Seniority </b>

Year of Experience

Less than 1 year

From 1 to under 2 years

From 2 to under 5 years

From 5 years and above

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This section focuses on discussing the Work Place Environment Factors result. This section aims to evaluate the effect level of the behavioral environment on Employee Productivity and Overall Satisfaction in the behavioral environment.

Table 5: The effect level of “Recognition for Hard Work” from Superiors at the Workplace on Productivity

As can be seen from the result of Table 5, more than half of the respondents chose Strongly Agree 68% percent, and 32% chose Agree to the statement. As a result, this demonstrates from staff members to managers working in a company or an organization are always seeking for the “Recognition of Hard Work” or “Recognition of Diligence” from colleagues and especially from their

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superiors. Some may quit their job after a short time but for others, they want to attach to their company.

Table 6: The effect level of “Feedback Performance” from Superiors at the Workplace on Employee Productivity

Table 7: The Effect Level of "Fair Treatment" at the Workplace on Employee Productivity

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Table 8: The effect level of "Work-Life Balance" at the Workplace on Employee Productivity

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