Costs and benefits of autonomy when learning a task: an experimental approach.

Previous findings suggested that the positive relationship between autonomy and learning outcomes (such as improved task performance) only holds up until a certain optimum level of autonomy has been reached. This assumption was investigated in an experimental study where 95 participants had to learn a computer task. During the learning phase, we manipulated autonomy, distinguishing among no, moderate, and full autonomy.

Workers' personal initiative as a moderator of the relations between job characteristics and well-being.

Having personal initiative means that workers are self-starting, pro-active, and persistent in pursuing their goals. This study examined whether personal initiative contributed to the prediction of two aspects of well-being (emotional exhaustion and learning motivation). Personal initiative was expected to have direct effects on well-being as well as moderate the effects of relevant work characteristics such as job demands and control.

From task characteristics to learning: A systematic review.

Although many theoretical approaches propose that job characteristics affect employee learning, the question is why and how job characteristics influence learning. The present study reviews the evidence on the relationships among learning antecedents (i.e.