An Exploratory Study to Understand the Climate That Creates Opportunities (Ba) for Physiotherapists to Develop Professionally: A Workplace Climate That Enhances the Sense of Self-Growth

TL;DR

This study explores how workplace climate influences physiotherapists' sense of self-growth, finding that a strict and diligent learning environment is crucial for professional development.

Contribution

The study identifies specific workplace climate factors, such as strictness and diligence, that significantly enhance physiotherapists' sense of self-growth.

Findings

A positive learning environment is strongly associated with a heightened sense of self-growth among physiotherapists.

Strictness and diligence in the workplace climate are significant predictors of a supportive learning environment.

Workplace policies should prioritize fostering strict and diligent climates to enhance professional development.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to understand the climate that creates opportunities for physiotherapists to develop professionally by conducting an exploratory analysis of the workplace climate factors that enhance the sense of self-growth among them.

Methods: We recruited participants from March to May 2023 through physiotherapists’ networks and social media. Participants were sent a URL to access the study survey. A total of 357 Japanese physiotherapists who had provided their consent to participate in the survey engaged in the study. The questionnaire measured physiotherapists’ subjective perception of their current workplace across three aspects: a sense of self-growth, satisfaction level, and stress level. Further, they were asked to rate three aspects of their workplace: climate, human relationships, and the learning environment. The respondents were also asked to rate their subjective impression of the climate at their current workplace on 10 four-point scales, each with antonymous adjectives at the ends of the scale: (1) bright-dark, (2) exciting-boring, (3) warm-cold, (4) strict-loose, (5) honest-dishonest, (6) open-closed, (7) diligent-lazy, (8) passionate-apathetic, (9) cooperative-uncooperative, and (10) autonomous-heteronomous. Exploratory analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between each item and physiotherapists’ sense of self-growth. We formatted the scale responses as a 0-1 binary prior to analysis to minimize ambiguity in the response data. Binary logistic regression was performed, with the cutoff for statistical significance set at 5%.

Results: Sense of self-growth was significantly associated with a positive learning environment (β=0.41, OR=2.28, p<0.01). The learning environment was significantly associated with strictness (β=0.28, OR=1.89, p<0.05) and diligence (β=0.78, OR=4.90, p<0.01). The results suggest that a positive learning environment is essential for enhancing physiotherapists’ sense of self-growth; to create such an environment, fostering a climate that is perceived as strict and diligent is important.

Conclusions: A positive learning environment is essential for the development of physiotherapists’ sense of self-growth; to create such an environment, fostering a culture that is recognized as strict and diligent is crucial. Therefore, when developing workplace policies and training strategies, the following aspects must be considered: it is important to create a management and guidance system that fosters a workplace environment where it is easier to learn and that recognizes the importance of strictness and diligence in work.