본 연구는 경력 3년 미만 신입사원을 대상으로 무형식학습이 조직몰입에 미치는 영향과 자기효능감의 매개효과에 대해 검증하였다. 이를 위해 신입사원 317명으로부터 온 · 오프라인을 통해 설문지를 회수하고, 이 중 유의미한 300부를 활용하여 분석하였다. 분석한 결과를 살펴보면 먼저, 무형식학습의 하위요인은 타인과의 학습, 자기성찰, 외부탐색으로 분류되며 이들 중에서 외부탐색만이 조직몰입에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 신입사원들이 조직 내에서 업무수행을 위해 내 · 외부 전문가와 대화하거나 업무관련 서적이나 인트라넷을 검색하는 등의 탐색 행위를 통해 조직에 긍정적인 감정과 의무감을 동시에 느끼고 몰입하게 되는 것을 확인하였다. 둘째, 무형식학습의 세 가지 하위요인 모두 자기효능감에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 신입사원들이 일터에서 무형식학습을 통해 자신이 어떤 상황에서든 원하는 결과를 얻을 수 있는 능력이 있다고 믿는 기대와 신념이 증가하는 것을 의미한다. 마지막으로 무형식학습과 조직몰입과의 관계에서 무형식학습의 하위요인인 외부탐색만이 자기효능감의 매개효과를 통해 조직몰입에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 신입사원의 외부탐색 행동은 개인의 성취감과 자신의 능력에 대한 믿음을 쌓아서 높은 자기효능감을 형성하고 이를 통해서 궁극적으로 더 높은 경력을 추구하고 경력의 완성을 위해서 조직에 더욱 몰입하게 만드는 것이다. 본 연구는 신입사원의 무형식학습과 조직몰입의 관계를 확인하고, 개인적이고 심리적 변수인 자기효능감이 갖는 매개효과에 대하여 검증함으로써 조직에서 신입사원의 부적응과 이직 등을 어떻게 관리해야 할지에 대한 방향을 제시하였다. 실무적으로는 인사 담당자가 조직 내 신입사원 교육훈련 프로그램을 개발하고 운영하는 데 있어, 외부탐색의 중요성을 인지함으로써 업무관련 서적과 인트라넷 이용, 외부 전문가와의 협업 등을 할 수 있는 환경을 조성하고, 이것을 교육훈련 과정에 반영할 수 있다. 이로 인해 교육효과를 높이고 신입사원의 몰입을 증가시켜 조직성과 향상에 기여할 수 있을 것이다.
The primary purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between informal learning and organizational commitment of the new employees with less than three years of experience. In addition, the relationship between the two variables was examined for the mediating effects of the self-efficacy of new employees. For this purpose, the questionnaire was collected online and offline from 317 new employees in South Korea and analyzed using 300 samples with significant values. For this study, the hypothesis was established based on the theoretical review of each factor, and it was verified through factor analysis and correlation analysis and hierarchical regression using SPSS18. The results are as follows. First, it was found that only external scanning among subcontinents of informal learning, learning with others, self-experimentation, and external scanning, has a significant influence on organizational commitment. New employees were able to communicate with internal and external experts in order to perform their duties in a workplace, or search for books or intranet to ensure that they felt positive emotions and obligations to the organization at the same time. Conversely, it was found that interaction with others in a workplace or self-experimentation does not develop their organizational commitment. Second, it was found that all three factors of informal learning have significant positive effects on self-efficacy. This means increasing expectations and beliefs that new employees believe they have the ability to get the desired results in any situation through all kinds of informal learning that takes place in a workplace. Third, only external scanning, which is a sub-factor of informal learning in relation to new employees with less than three years of experience, has a significant effect on organizational commitment through the mediating effect of self-efficacy. In other words, it was found that the external scanning behavior of new employees builds up a sense of accomplishment and ability to form a high sense of self-efficacy that ultimately leads them to become more absorbed in the organization in pursuit of higher careers and career completion. This study provided directions on how new employees should be managed by the organization by identifying the relationship between informal learning and organizational commitment and verifying the effects of self-efficacy as a personal and psychological variable. In practice, HR managers can recognize the importance of external scanning in developing and operating training programs for new employees in the organization, thereby creating an environment that allows them to use work-related books, intranet, and collaborate with outside experts, and reflect it. This will help improve organizational performance by increasing the effectiveness of education and increasing the recruitment of new employees. Despite the above findings, this study has some limitations. First, through previous prior studies, all three elements that make up an informal learning expected to have a positive effect on organizational commitment through the mediating effects of self-efficacy, but results showed that only external scanning factors had full mediated effect. This requires an in-depth analysis of the causes through future qualitative research methods. The questionnaire used in the study has a common expedient since questions were made in the self-reporting questionnaire. Future studies need to complement the limitations of self-reporting questionnaires and resolve the problem through systematic data collection to produce more reliable results. And this study did not analyse empirically the causal relationship between variables in the duration of time. It is necessary to identify the causal relationship of variables over time by conducting longitudinal studies using various methods in the future. Finally, as a sub-factor of informal learning, we need to study other forms besides learning with others, self-experimentation, and external scanning.