Workplace Stress in Real Time
Three Parsimonious Scales for the Experience Sampling Measurement of Stressors and Strain at Work
Abstract
Abstract: Experience sampling methods are increasingly used in workplace stress assessment, yet rarely developed and validated following the available best practices. Here, we developed and evaluated parsimonious measures of momentary stressors (Task Demand and Task Control) and the Italian adaptation of the Multidimensional Mood Questionnaire as an indicator of momentary strain (Negative Valence, Tense Arousal, and Fatigue). Data from 139 full-time office workers that received seven experience sampling questionnaires per day over 3 workdays suggested satisfactory validity (including weak invariance cross-level isomorphism), level-specific reliability, and sensitivity to change. The scales also showed substantial correlations with retrospective measures of the corresponding or similar constructs and a degree of sensitivity to work sampling categories (type and mean of job task, people involved). Opportunities and recommendations for the investigation and the routine assessment of workplace stress are discussed.
References
2013). Contributo alla validazione italiana del Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)
([A contribution to the Italian validation of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory] . Psicologia Della Salute, 2, 120–135. https://doi.org/10.3280/PDS2013-0020082010). Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26(2), 143–149. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000020
(2013). Assessing counterproductive work behavior: A study on the dimensionality of CWB-Checklist. TPM – Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 20(3), 235–248. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM20.3.3
(2015). ESM 2.0: State of the art and future potential of experience sampling methods in organizational research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 383–407. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111335
(2015). A meta-analytic examination of the potential correlates and consequences of workload. Work and Stress, 29(2), 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2015.1033037
(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.
(2012). Using experience sampling methodology in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(7), 865–877. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1803
(2020). Measurement schmeasurement: Questionable measurement practices and how to avoid them. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 3(4), 456–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245920952393
(2019). Experience sampling methods: A discussion of critical trends and considerations for scholarly advancement. Organizational Research Methods, 22(4), 969–1006. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428118802626
(2014). Reliability estimation in a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis framework. Psychological Methods, 19(1), 72–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032138
(1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
(1998). Measuring job stressors and strains: Where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3(4), 368–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.4.368
(2017). Relating measurement invariance, cross-level invariance, and multilevel reliability. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01640
(2002). Psychosocial demands and ambulatory blood pressure: A field assessment approach. Physiology & Behavior, 77(4–5), 699–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9384(02)00921-6
(1998). The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): An instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3(4), 322–355. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.4.322
(2016). Multilevel factor analysis: Reporting guidelines and a review of reporting practices. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51(6), 881–898. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2016.1228042
(2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19(3), 192–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500297720
(2022). Open data and supplementary materials of the article “Workplace stress in real time: Three parsimonious scales for the experience sampling measurement of stressors and strain at work.” https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/87A9P
(2010). Diary studies in organizational research. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(2), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000009
(2019). The stressor–strain relationship in diary studies: A meta-analysis of the within and between levels. Work and Stress, 33(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1445672
(2018). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.r-project.org/
. (2009). Work sampling: Methodological advances and new applications. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 20(1), 42–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20186
(1995).
(Assessing stress at work: A framework and an instrument . In O. SvaneC. JohansenEds., Work and health – Scientific basis of progress in the working environment (pp. 105–113). Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.2012).
(Psychometrics . In M. S. MehlT. S. ConnerEds., Handbook of research methods for sudying daily life (pp. 302–320). The Guilford Press.1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale, Organizational Constraints Scale, Quantitative Workload Inventory, and Physical Symptoms Inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3(4), 356–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.3.4.356
(2016). Construct meaning in multilevel settings. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 41(5), 481–520. https://doi.org/10.3102/1076998616646200
(2008). Available instruments for measurement of psychosocial factors in the work environment. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 82(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-008-0312-6
(2010). Reliability of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38(3 suppl), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494809349859
(2013). Psychometric properties of the UK and Italian versions of the HSE Stress Indicator Tool. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 29(1), 72–79. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000122
(2000). Using the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale (JAWS) to investigate affective responses to work stressors. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(2), 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.2.219
(2004). AIC model selection using Akaike weights. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(1), 192–196. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206482
(1994). A conceptual framework for the study of work and mental health. Work & Stress, 8(2), 84–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678379408259982
(2014). The multitasking framework: The effects of increasing workload on acute psychobiological stress reactivity. Stress and Health, 30(2), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2496
(2007). Assessing mood in daily life: Structural validity, sensitivity to change, and reliability of a short-scale to measure three basic dimensions of mood. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(4), 258–267. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.23.4.258
(2016). Sensus: A cross-platform, general-purpose system for mobile crowdsensing in human-subject studies. Proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, 415–426. https://doi.org/10.1145/2971648.2971711
(