A Field Study of Employee e-Learning Activity and Outcomes

Employees with access to e-learning courses targeting computer skills were tracked during a year-long study. Employees’ perceptions of peer and supervisor support, job characteristics (such as workload and autonomy), and motivation to learn were used to predict total time spent using e-learning. Results suggest the importance of motivation to learn and workload in determining aggregate time spent in e-learning courses. Time in courses predicted subsequent differences in computer-related skill and performance improvement as judged by participants’ supervisors. Implications of these findings for the design and administration of e-learning programs are discussed.