Journal of Management Development

Organizational communication satisfaction in the virtual workplace

Ali D. Akkirman, Drew L. Harris,
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Ali D. Akkirman, Drew L. Harris, (2005) "Organizational communication satisfaction in the
virtual workplace", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 24 Issue: 5, pp.397-409, doi:
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Organizational
Organizational communication communication
satisfaction in the virtual satisfaction
workplace
397
Ali D. Akkirman
Maersk Logistics, USA Inc., Edison, New Jersey, USA, and Received January 2004
Drew L. Harris Revised July 2004
Accepted August 2004
College of Business and Economics, Longwood University, Farmville,
Virginia, USA
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Abstract
Purpose This study aims to compare levels of communication satisfaction between virtual
workplace and traditional workplace employees in a single firm and explore the potential causes of the
differences.
Design/methodology/approach Two groups, virtual office and traditional office workers, from a
single firm were surveyed using Down and Hazens Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire. Based
on previous research, this study developed and tested hypotheses that traditional workers would have
higher levels of satisfaction in personal feedback, communication climate, relationship with
supervisors, horizontal and informal communication, organizational integration and overall
communication satisfaction. Further analysis of the sample groups and of the companys process of
implementation helped explain the differences found.
Findings Contrary to the hypotheses, this study found that virtual office workers were more
satisfied with organization communication than traditional office workers. A discussion of these
findings suggests this firm actually took steps recommended by researchers and consultants: upper
level support, appropriate technology and technological support, culture training as well as technical
training, restructuring work to support a virtual workplace, and providing extra social support
systems to reduce alienation.
Research limitations/implications The results of the study are limited by the company-specific
nature of the sample and number of responses.
Originality/value This study should help managers and practitioners in planning and
implementing the technical and human side of a virtual workplace programme. It shows that
communication satisfaction can improve in a virtual workplace and describes some of the steps the
sample firm took in their implementation. Academic researchers can benefit by having a basis for
further research and building beyond the limitations of this study.
Keywords Teleworking, Communication, Turkey, Virtual organizations
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Todays business challenges focus on reducing and controlling costs, competing
globally, improving quality, improving customer service, and accelerating the product
development cycle. These business challenges are being driven and aided by improved Journal of Management Development
Vol. 24 No. 5, 2005
information and communication technologies, globalization of markets, increased pp. 397-409
competition, unpredictable and turbulent markets, and changes in social trends q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0262-1711
(Igbaria and Guimaraes, 1999; Kurland and Bailey, 1999; Rollier and Liou, 1997; DOI 10.1108/02621710510598427
 JMD Townsend et al., 1998; Vivien and Thompson, 2000). Many consider the virtual
24,5 workplace a solution to these challenges (Igbaria and Tan, 1998; Kayworth and
Leidner, 2000; Townsend et al., 1998).
Crandall and Wallace (1998) defined the virtual workplace as networks of people, a
workplace where work is done anytime [sic] and anywhere, and not bound by the
traditional limitations of time, physical space, job descriptions, title, and pyramidal
398 reporting relationships (p. 19). In other words, it provides flexibility to work at any
time and in any place through information and communication technologies. The
virtual workplace encompasses a number of different working styles, such as
telecenters, teleworking, hot-desking, hotelling, and virtual offices. For many, the
virtual workplace has become an increasingly preferred workplace. An ITAC 2001
survey found that 28 million employees participated in some form of telecommuting
programs in the USA (Thibodeau, 2003).
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The virtual workplace presents challenges

Success in making the transition to the virtual workplace requires more than
implementing new technology (Handy, 1995). Organizations must build trust among
workers (Cascio, 2000; Handy, 1995; Holton, 2001; McCready et al., 2001; Nilles, 1998;
Staples, 2001a, b). Building trust requires frequent (Staples, 2001a) and high-quality
communications (Jensen, 2003; Nilles, 1998).
Indeed, communication is one of the most important concerns of managers and
workers in the virtual workplace (Cascio, 1999, 2000; Fritz et al., 1998; Staples, 2001b;
Townsend et al., 1998) and is one of the largest barriers to effective telecommuting
(Ruppel and Howard, 1998). Early studies of communication systems in virtual offices
suggest that effective communication is more crucial than in traditional settings (Conner,
2003; DeSanctis and Monge, 1999; Engkavanish, 1999; Kayworth and Leidner, 2000;
Whiting, 1997) because the virtual office alters the familiar pattern, content and context
of organization communications (Engkavanish, 1999; Nilles, 1998; Townsend et al., 1998).
Many have found that the virtual workplace negatively affected communication and
interaction with co-workers and managers (Hill et al., 1998; Huws et al., 1990). Hargie et al.
(2002) found poor communication correlated with lower commitment, reduced productivity,
increased absenteeism, and higher turnover. Staples (2001a) found that employees in a
virtual workplace experienced lower levels of job satisfaction and manager-subordinate
trust while experiencing higher levels of job stress, all correlated with lower quality
communication. Ramsower (1985) found that full-time workers in virtual workplaces
experienced similarly diminished work experiences that could be attributed to less frequent
communication, reduced quality of information communicated, and a loss of contextual
information (the social and professional context of the information flows).
This study reports on research that compared organizational communication and
communication satisfaction in a single company that moved from a traditional office
setting to one with both virtual office workers and traditional office workers. We used
a variety of theoretically grounded communication satisfaction variables to test the
relative levels of satisfaction among virtual and traditional office workers. The survey
took place one year after the company implemented its virtual workplace. The survey
variables included:
.
personal feedback;
.
communication climate;
 .
relationship with supervisors; Organizational
.
horizontal and informal communication; and communication
.
organizational integration. satisfaction
We compare our results to previous research and offer an appraisal and discussion of
how the sample organization created its virtual workplace climate.
399
Methods and data
From the previous research (described above), we can draw up a simple set of
hypotheses regarding the qualitative differences in communication satisfaction
between those who work in traditional offices and those who work in virtual offices.
Compared with workers in traditional offices:
H1. Virtual office workers will have less satisfaction with communication climate.
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H2. Virtual office workers will have less satisfaction with personal feedback.
H3. Virtual office workers will have less satisfaction in their relationship with
their supervisor.
H4. Virtual office workers will have less satisfaction in horizontal and informal
communication (peer communication).
H5. Virtual office workers will have less organizational integration satisfaction.
H6. Virtual office workers will have lower overall levels of communication
satisfaction.
To test these hypotheses, this study used a survey in the Turkish subsidiary of an
international company based in Germany. The subsidiary imports, assembles and
markets medical devices. The company headquarters are located in Istanbul, and there
were five other offices in Turkey. The company began implementing a carefully designed
virtual office programme in 2000. Subsequently, three offices were closed. This company
was believed to have implemented the first virtual office work arrangement in Turkey.
There were 100 workers in the company 65 of them became virtual office workers
and 35 of them remained as traditional office workers. Virtual office workers did not
have to come to the office on a regular basis, and they were able to work at any time
and anywhere they wanted.

Instrumentation
We surveyed all employees using Downs and Hazens (1977) Communication
Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ). The CSQ has proven highly reliable (r 0:94) across
many settings (Clampitt, 1981). We used the five factors from the CSQ that are most
closely tied to our hypotheses:
(1) communication climate;
(2) organizational integration;
(3) personal feedback;
(4) horizontal communication; and
(5) relationship with supervisor.
 JMD An average of these factors gave us an overall score to test the overall satisfaction with
communication. A complete description of these factors and their component questions
24,5 is presented in the Appendix. We briefly describe the five factors we used below.
Communication climate. This includes satisfaction with the extent to which
communication in the organization motivates and stimulates workers to meet
organizational goals and the extent to which it makes them identify with the organization.
400 Personal feedback. This reflects satisfaction with personal feedback, especially
information workers receive about their performance and how they are being judged.
Relationship with supervisor. This reflects satisfaction with the supervisors
communication the extent to which they are open to ideas, listen and pay attention,
and offer guidance for solving job-related problems.
Horizontal communication. This includes the extent to which informal communication
is accurate and free flowing, and the extent to which the grapevine is active.
Organizational integration. This involves the degree to which individuals receive
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information about their immediate work environment, such as departmental plans, the
requirements of their jobs, and personal news.
To prepare the survey for use in the sample company, five faculty staff of the
English Department of Dumlupinar University translated the CSQ from English into
Turkish. Those translated Turkish versions were then translated back to English to
confirm their accuracy. The faculty resolved discrepancies to arrive at the final version.
The original seven-point Likert scale was replaced with a five-point Likert scale.

Sample
The data for this research was collected in December 2001, one year after the launch of
the virtual office arrangement. The surveys were distributed to all workers via e-mail.
Sixty-eight completed surveys were returned (a 68 per cent response rate). Virtual
office workers returned 46 surveys (a response rate of 70.7 per cent) and traditional
office workers returned 22 surveys (a response rate of 62.8 per cent).

Results
The aim of this study was to test hypotheses regarding the potential differences between
virtual office workers and traditional office workers on communication satisfaction. We
used the results of the CSQ to calculate factor scores for the five factors discussed above
(plus an overall score) for each category of worker (i.e. virtual and traditional). ANOVA
provided a view of the relationships between factors and the differences in factor scores
between virtual office workers and traditional office workers.
Table I shows the Pearson bivariate correlation coefficients (r) between
communication satisfaction factors. Table I indicates that there were significant

Organizational Relationship Communication Horizontal

integration with supervisor climate communication

Personal feedback 0.84 0.75 0.74 0.65

Organizational integration 0.83 0.83 0.66
Table I. Relationship with supervisor 0.79 0.72
Correlations between Communication climate 0.83
communication variables Notes: *p # 0:05; **p # 0:01; ***p # 0:001
 positive correlations among all of the communication factors. The values of the Organizational
correlation coefficients (r 0:6-0:8) show that all communication factors have strong communication
relationships with each other. This is not surprising one would expect strong
communication satisfaction in one factor, such as personal feedback, to positively satisfaction
affect satisfaction with another factor, such as relationship with supervisor (the typical
source of feedback).
Table II shows the average factor scores for each sample group, the difference and 401
the significance of the differences. For every factor, the virtual office workers scored
significantly higher in satisfaction than the traditional office workers (the statistical
significance ranged from p # 0:05 for personal feedback and relationship with
supervisor to p # 0:001 for horizontal communication). The weakest score was for
personal feedback among traditional workers (2.92; less than neutral); this was also the
weakest factor for virtual office workers. The highest score was for virtual office
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workers relationship with supervisor (4.02); this factor also scored highest for
traditional workers (3.73). Overall, communication satisfaction scores for traditional
office workers were nearly neutral (3.24) while virtual office workers were more
satisfied (3.66). Interestingly, the rank ordering (most to least satisfied) of each factor
within the sample groups was identical:
(1) relationship with supervisor;
(2) communication climate;
(3) overall communication satisfaction;
(4) horizontal communication;
(5) organizational integration; and
(6) personal feedback.
Because these results are directly opposite to what previous studies have found, we
decided to examine some additional characteristics of our sample to see if those could
account for the results. Table III shows a demographic comparison of the two sample
groups. The virtual office group had a significantly higher proportion of males (91 per
cent) than the traditional office workers (23 per cent), they were significantly older
(61 per cent were 30 years or older compared to 82 per cent of traditional office worker
who were 20-30 years old) and had significantly longer tenure with the company (66
per cent of the virtual office group had three or more years of tenure while only 41 per
cent of the traditional group had three to five years tenure). There were no significant

Virtual office Traditional

workers office workers
(n 46) (n 22) Difference F

Communication satisfaction 3.66 3.24 0.42 9.64**

Personal feedback 3.38 2.92 0.46 5.98*
Organizational integration 3.57 3.12 0.45 10.37**
Relationship with supervisor 4.02 3.73 0.29 4.12* Table II.
Communication climate 3.69 3.26 0.43 6.64* ANOVA comparison
Horizontal communication 3.66 3.17 0.49 15.66*** between communication
Notes: *p # 0:05; **p # 0:01; ***p # 0:001 satisfaction factors
 JMD Virtual office workers Traditional office workers
24,5 (n 46) (n 22) F

Gender 90.42***
Male 42 (91) 5 (23)
Female 4 (9) 17 (77)
402 Age 12.27***
20-30 18 (39) 18 (82)
30-40 26 (57) 4 (18)
40-50 2 (4)
Tenure in organization 4.75*
Up to 1 year 8 (17) 4 (18)
1-3 years 8 (17) 9 (41)
3-5 years 16 (35) 9 (41)
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5 years 14 (31)

Table III. Education 1.61

Demographic High school 18 (39) 4 (18)
characteristics of virtual College graduate 28 (61) 5 (23)
and traditional office Degree 13 (59)
workers Notes: Figures in parentheses are percentages; *p # 0:05; **p # 0:01; ***p # 0:001

differences in education level. Also of interest, over 82 per cent of the total sample were
employees prior to the transition to the virtual office arrangement, and that proportion
was observed in each sample group.

Discussion
The main finding of this study did not support the idea that a virtual workplace would
have a categorically negative impact on organizational communication. In fact, we
found the opposite virtual office workers in this sample firm experienced higher
levels of communication satisfaction on all measured factors. Given that previous
studies have found broad negative impacts on communication satisfaction (e.g.
Duxbury and Neufeld, 1999; Engkavanish, 1999; Gray and Laidlaw, 2002; Hargie et al.,
2002; Ramsower, 1985; Staples, 2001b; Venkatesh and Johnson, 2002), this finding
needs some explanation and exploration.
The first possible source of difference that must be explored is the sample. While
education level was not significantly different for our two samples, age, length of
tenure in work and gender were significant. We have no theoretical grounding to
indicate one gender should have more communication-related satisfaction than the
other. Further, developing and testing a gender-based theory on communication
satisfaction would require including national-culture moderators (e.g. Hofstede, 1993).
Since this test was conducted in a single culture, we cannot draw further conclusions.
However, there are theoretical reasons why an older and more tenured sample, in
this case the virtual office workers, might have greater communication and work
satisfaction. With maturity and experience in a job, workers might be more
comfortable with more functional than social communication, and therefore they might
be less concerned with, or more satisfied with, communication climate, horizontal
communication, and organizational integration. They might also have a more firmly
 established organizational identification (Wiesenfeld et al., 1999a), which could affect Organizational
integration and climate. Maturity and job tenure might support stronger reliance on communication
self-referent and system-referent information (Conner, 2003), which could affect
personal feedback and relationship with supervisor. So, the impact of demographic satisfaction
differences in the samples cannot be ruled out.
While it is tempting to make inferences from the virtual office workers rating
personal feedback as the least satisfied communication factor, this was the least 403
satisfying for traditional office workers too. In fact, the complete consistency in
ranking among the factors across each sample group suggests a very consistent, stable
pattern of communication throughout the organization. What then, if not just
demographics, would have made virtual workers more satisfied across the board than
traditional office workers?
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What the organization did

In many ways, the sample organization followed the models and recommendations
made by researchers and the companies they have studied. For example, the company
provided virtual office workers with a laptop computer with modem, fax card and
mobility software, an extra phone line in the home and a cellular phone. The company
also provided technical support in case of hardware or software problems. These
factors are consistent with general recommendations to provide effective hardware and
software infrastructure (Townsend et al., 1998) and to provide technical support so that
teleworkers have whatever they need to perform their tasks and not be distracted by
managing their own technology issues (Davenport and Pearlson, 1998).
The company also spent two years in transition. This patient approach probably
aided in the critical factors of acceptance and support of managers and colleagues
(Cascio, 2000; McCloskey, 2001; Wiesenfeld et al., 1999b). During this time the
organization not only provided essential training, but they reorganized their workflow
so that the work itself was more aligned with the demands of a virtual office. For
example, by moving to a process-based structure and a management-by-results rewards
system, the organization supported a more self-referent and system-referent information
culture. If employees know more about how they are doing through task feedback, the
less they will need personal feedback or a strong relationship with their supervisor.
If results-by-management reduces the influence of office politics, then being
physically removed from the social context of work might increase satisfaction because
it allows the worker to focus on what will provide rewards. When the company
established a paperless work environment, they also created less need for horizontal
communication and provided alternatives to some of the communication climate
components.
During the transition the company established more formalized communication
channels, communication protocols and an ongoing communication process to inform
and engage workers. The use of information technology applications such as
group-ware, e-mail, scheduled meetings, scheduled video-conferencing and
audio-conferencing resulted in healthy, frequent communication taking place in the
organization. This is consistent with previous work suggesting that more formalized,
planned and well-organized communication between managers and teleworkers may
increase satisfaction with communication (Duxbury and Neufeld, 1999; Fritz et al.,
1998; Shirley, 1985).
 JMD One of the most frequently expressed concerns about virtual offices is that
24,5 traditional social mechanics that facilitate communication are lost, and participants
must find new ways to communicate effectively in the virtual work environment. The
sample company implemented several strategies to keep the virtual workers in the
communication loop. Among these were socially engaging tactics such as the e-cafe,
where employees could enjoy chat-rooms, post and read e-Bulletin Boards, play chess
404 at lunch, read newspapers and the like. The company also regularly brought the virtual
office workers to the office for meetings and social events.
A substantial majority of both virtual office workers and traditional office workers
had been with the company in a traditional office arrangement before the transition.
The virtual office workers were experienced in how communication took place in the
traditional office. Therefore, they had an opportunity to compare the two
environments. With the new work design and supporting infrastructure, the virtual
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office workers apparently experienced a more positive communication environment.

While better design of a virtual system compared to conventional one might be a
possible source of differences between virtual and traditional office workers, the
Hawthorne Effect might also account for some of the differences. The virtual office
workers received more training, attention, and new opportunities: they may have
reported favourable communications satisfaction because of the special attention they
received. It is also possible that the lower scores for the traditional office workers could
reflect some envy of the attention and resources placed upon the new, virtual offices.
Because we do not have pre-virtual office measurements we cannot draw conclusions
about these potential sources of difference.

Implications
This study found that the virtual workplace does not have a categorically negative
impact on organizational communication. The virtual office workers in this study had
higher levels of satisfaction on six different organizational communication factors. The
results show that what a firm does can make a real difference in the outcomes when
implementing a virtual office. It may also matter who works in the virtual workplace.
Firms can reap benefits beyond increased productivity and cost shifting; this study
shows employee satisfaction and related variables such as turnover and motivation
can improve as well.
This study emphasizes earlier suggestions that it is important to have a
well-organized plan in order to successfully move to a virtual office. The sample
organization implemented a five-step plan. The first stage was establishing
information technology and network infrastructure and providing ongoing training.
Then, the organization changed its organizational structure to form a process-based
organization that allowed employees to take an entire process from start to finish in
one rapid flow. They wanted to create an organization where workers were
empowered, hierarchy was eliminated, and coaching was emphasized. In the next step,
the organization adopted managing-by-results. The organization changed the focus
from processes and time-based measurement standards to result-based measurement
standards. The next step created a paperless organization which stored information in
digital format allowing all workers to access the most updated information from
anywhere and anytime. Finally, the organization created the virtual office, where 65
per cent of their workforce moved out of office and into their own virtual workspace.
 During the transition period both traditional and virtual office workers were trained Organizational
in information technology on a continuous basis. The success of all stages, especially communication
establishing information technology and network infrastructure and creating a
paperless organization, was dependent on these training programmes. The training satisfaction
helped make all employees more comfortable with information and communication
technologies and helped both groups to be more productive.
405
Limitations and next steps
These results are limited by the company-specific nature of the sample and number of
responses. Since the traditional and virtual office workers were from one organization,
it is hard to generalize from the findings. These positive results regarding
communication satisfaction for virtual office workers may or may not be applicable to
virtual office workers from other organizations. Additional research engaging several
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organizations and larger populations would certainly be helpful in generalizing

findings. Also, while there is nothing to suggest that Turkish culture is more
supportive of the virtual office than other cultures, it would be helpful to have more
studies in various countries and to explore culture-specific alternatives.
The study is perception-based. The outcomes of this study were measured in terms
of the organization members self-evaluations, primarily attitudes. It would help to
have longitudinal data to examine behavioural outcomes (turnover, changes in
productivity, career development, etc.). Also, data on organizational performance
would be helpful.
Because these results are contrary to most previous findings, we suspect that the
process of transition and support is the important finding. Studies that include
contrasts in implementation efforts would be helpful. For example, would a technically
well-supported virtual office in a functionally organized firm show as high levels of
satisfaction as a technically well-supported virtual office in a process-organized firm?
Lastly, it might be interesting to see how much, if any, of the higher levels of
satisfaction among virtual office workers compared to their traditional office
colleagues is a product of lower levels of satisfaction among the traditional office
workers. Taking satisfaction measures before a transition has begun and then after the
transition would help in understanding the dynamics of satisfaction generation.
Including the impact on those left behind in future studies might help us understand
better the impact on the whole firm.

Conclusion
Developments in information technology result in new working arrangements. One of
them is the virtual workplace. Virtual workplace programmes with careful design and
implementation can provide advantages for employers, employees and society. Some
see the virtual workplace as a solution for improving productivity, reducing costs,
increasing competitive advantage, and improving customer service. Managerial
support and establishing trust between managers and workers are the key ingredients
to the success of virtual workplace. Both of these depend on effective communication.
Previous theory and empirical testing have shown that virtual office workers typically
experience lower levels of satisfaction across an array of communication factors when
compared to their traditional office counterparts.
 JMD This study found an organization that experienced results that dramatically
24,5 contrast with prior theory and empiricism. Virtual office workers in this firm showed
significantly higher levels of satisfaction than their traditional office colleagues for six
communication factors tested. The discussion suggests that it arose primarily from the
process of implementation, though a possible demographic influence of age and work
tenure (the virtual office workers were both older and had longer work-tenure than the
406 traditional office workers) also could have affected the results.
If the results can be mostly attributed to the implementation and support, then this
company showed that following widely held recommendations actually works. The
firm provided excellent technical infrastructure and support, not just for the virtual
office workers, but also for the traditional office workers who had to interact with their
remote colleagues through technology. They restructured their workflow and incentive
systems in a way that supported the virtual office. They provided extensive and
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ongoing training. In short, this firm showed that following a textbook approach to
implementing a virtual office can result in improved employee communication
satisfaction, along with improved productivity and flexibility.

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Appendix. Communication satisfaction questionnaire

Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 very dissatisfied to 5 very
satisfied. Respondents are asked to rate their satisfaction on series of questions. Those questions
are summarized and equally weighted to develop communication satisfaction factors. The
factors are listed below along with the question topics that comprise the factors.

Personal feedback
Satisfaction with personal feedback is one of the strongest dimensions because workers in
general have a need to know how they are being judged and how their performance is appraised.
Items:
.
information about how my job compares with others;
.
information about how I am being judged;
.
recognition of my efforts;
.
reports on how problems in my job are being handled; and
.
extent to which my superiors know and understand the problems faced by subordinates.

Organizational integration
Satisfaction with organizational integration revolves around the degree to which individuals
receive information about the immediate work environment. Workers want to know
departmental plans, the requirement of their jobs, and some personal news. Such information
makes them feel a part of the organization.
Items:
.
information about my progress in my job;
.
personnel news;
.
information about departmental policies and goals;
.
information about the requirements of my job; and
.
information about employee benefits and pay.
 Communication climate Organizational
Satisfaction with communication climate reflects communication on both the organizational and
personal level. On one hand, it includes items such as the extent to which communication in the communication
organization motivates and stimulates workers to meet organizational goals and extent to which satisfaction
it makes them identify with the organization. On the other, it includes estimates of whether or not
peoples attitudes toward communicating are healthy in this organization. There is some
indication that climate is the strongest dimension and that workers tend to think of it when they
respond to general questions about communication. 409
Items:
.
extent to which company communication motivates and stimulates and enthusiasm for
meeting its goals;
. extent to which the people in my organization have great ability as communicators;
.
extent to which the companys communication makes me identify with it or feel a vital
part of it;
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.
extent to which I receive on time the information needed to do my job; and
.
extent to which conflicts are handled appropriately through proper communication
channels.

Horizontal communication
Satisfaction with horizontal communication and informal communication concerns the degree to
which the grapevine is active and the extent to which horizontal and informal communication is
accurate and free flowing.
Items:
.
extent to which the grapevine is active in our organization;
.
extent to which horizontal communication with other employees is accurate and
free-flowing;
.
extent to which communication practices are adaptable to emergencies;
.
extent to which my work group is compatible; and
. extent to which informal communication is active and accurate.

Relationship with supervisor

Satisfaction with supervisors includes both upward and downward aspects of communicating
with superiors. Three of the principal items deal with the extent to which they are open to ideas,
the extent to which they listen and pay attention, and the extent to which they offer guidance for
solving job-related problems.
Items:
.
extent to which my supervisor listens and pays attention to me;
.
extent to which my supervisor offers guidance for solving job-related problems;
.
extent to which my supervisor trusts me;
.
extent to which my supervisor is open to ideas; and
.
extent to which the amount of supervision given me is about right.
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