Abstract:

Two perspectives have been proposed to explain how a company should invest in employee training and development. The first theory, the human capital theory, states that training and development (T&D) increase the market value of the employee and thus affect employee intention to stay negatively. On the other hand, social exchange theory argues that T&D contribute to employees’ positive perception of the company’s commitment to their development and thus positively affect employees’ intention to stay. This study aimed to evaluate how T&D affect employee intention to stay in their job in Indonesia. Derived from the social exchange theory, we evaluated two possible work attitudes, change-related anxiety and employee-engagement variables, as mediating variables. We used primary data collected using a closed-ended questionnaire administered to employees of various companies in the Greater Jakarta area, Indonesia. We collected 125 datasets from employees who worked for two years or more and used multiple regression analysis to analyse the data. We found that in Indonesia, the social exchange theory can explain the relationship between T&D and employees’ intention to stay. We found a positive relationship between perceived T&D and employee intention to stay. Regarding the  mediating effect of work attitude on the relationship between T&D and employee intention to stay, we found that while change-related anxiety only partially mediated the relationship, employee engagement variable fully mediated the relationship between T&D and employee intention to stay.