Impact of rewards, training, and working environment on employee job performance in the Malaysian insurance industry

In the competitive insurance industry, where products are similar, employee attitudes and behaviors shape customer preferences and the corporate image. Despite the recognized importance of motivational factors such as rewards, training, and the working environment, there is a significant lack of research examining their impact on employee job performance specifically within Malaysian insurance companies. This study aims to determine the collective impact and relative contribution of reward policies, training activities, and the working environment on employee job performance within AIA, a Malaysian insurance company. A structured questionnaire was developed as the primary research instrument. The target population consisted of approximately 500 employees at AIA Insurance Company Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur branch, from which a convenience sample of 270 respondents was drawn. Pearson correlation analysis showed that reward (r = 0.47435, p < 0.0001), training (r = 0.43014, p < 0.0001), and the working environment (r = 0.38673, p < 0.0001) all had significant positive relationships with job performance. Multiple regression analysis further revealed that these three factors collectively explained 50.34% of the variance in job performance (R² = 0.5034, Adjusted R² = 0.494). Among the predictors, reward (β = 0.21718, p < 0.0001) had the strongest impact, followed by the working environment (β = 0.17144, p = 0.0005), and training (β = 0.11913, p = 0.0082). The findings confirm that reward, training, and the working environment significantly contribute to enhancing employee performance in the Malaysian AIA Insurance company.