Abstract
Research on psychological well-being (PWB) in organizational settings is now facing two major challenges. First, conceptual confusion surrounds PWB (Danna and Griffin 1999; Diener 1994; Ryff 1989), and the debate about the superiority of concurrent hedonic, eudaimonic, and integrative approaches is still open. Second, researchers in the organizational sciences mainly study context-free PWB while measuring organizational correlates, despite contextualized non-cognitive measures having proven their incremental validity over context-free measures (e.g. English 2001; Hunthausen et al. 2003). In an attempt to address these issues from a new perspective, an inductive approach was proposed. To confer good content validity to our model of PWB at work (PWBW), a preliminary bottom-up qualitative phase was carried out. On this basis, a quantitative study was conducted. From the 80 manifestations of PWBW obtained, a new instrument was generated and administered to 1,080 workers, supplemented by measures of context-free PWB and distress, of positive and negative affect, and of life satisfaction. Exploratory factor analyses revealed that PWBW can be conceptualized through 5 dimensions, namely, Interpersonal Fit at Work, Thriving at Work, Feeling of Competency at Work, Desire for Involvement at Work, and Perceived Recognition at Work. The questionnaire showed satisfactory internal consistency. Correlational analyses support the “related but distinct” nature of PWBW with regard to context-free hedonic and eudaimonic PWB dimensions and psychological distress indicators. In sum, the study led to the development of a grounded conceptualization of PWBW based on a work frame-of-reference and tied to a reliable and valid measure.
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Notes
The distinction between top-down (deduction) and bottom-up (induction) methodology for theory construction (Trochim 2006) is not to be confused with the top-down versus bottom-up theories of PWB, as described more extensively by Diener (1984), or with top-down/bottom-up investigations of PWB causal direction (Brief et al. 1993).
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Acknowledgments
Preparation of this article was made possible by a grant to the first author from the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, as well as by a seed grant from Université de Sherbrooke. The authors would like to extend special thanks to Timothy A. Judge and Robert Liden, Karine Savaria, as well as to two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments on a previous version of this paper.
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Appendix
Appendix
1.1 Index of Psychological Well-Being at Work
This questionnaire presents a list of statements describing how people may feel at work. Considering your job over the past 4 weeks, please indicate to what extent you agree with each statement.
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Disagree | Slightly agree | Moderately agree | Completely agree |
# IPWBW25 | # IPWBW80 | Item |
|---|---|---|
1 | 72 | I value the people I work with. |
(OFV: J’apprécie les gens avec qui je travaille.) | ||
2 | 66 | I find my job exciting. |
(OFV: Je trouve mon travail excitant.) | ||
3 | 18 | I know I am capable of doing my job. |
(OFV: Je sais que je suis capable de faire mon travail.) | ||
4 | 79 | I feel that my work is recognized. |
(OFV: Je sens que mon travail est reconnu.) | ||
5 | 41 | I want to take initiative in my work. |
(OFV: J’ai envie de prendre des initiatives dans mon travail.) | ||
6 | 58 | I enjoy working with the people at my job. |
(OFV: Je trouve agréable de travailler avec les gens de mon travail.) | ||
7 | 40 | I like my job. |
(OFV: J’aime mon travail.) | ||
8 | 2 | I feel confident at work. |
(OFV: J’ai confiance en moi au travail.) | ||
9 | 35 | I feel that my work efforts are appreciated. |
(OFV: Je sens que mes efforts au travail sont appréciés.) | ||
10 | 32 | I care about the good functioning of my organization. |
(OFV: Je me soucie du bon fonctionnement de mon organisation.) | ||
11 | 55 | I get along well with the people at my job. |
(OFV: Je m’entends bien avec les gens à mon travail.) | ||
12 | 60 | I am proud of the job I have. |
(OFV: Je suis fier de l’emploi que j’occupe.) | ||
13 | 80 | I feel effective and competent in my work. |
(OFV: Je me sens efficace et compétent dans mon travail.) | ||
14 | 78 | I know that people believe in the projects I work on. |
(OFV: Je sais que les gens croient aux projets sur lesquels je travaille.) | ||
15 | 23 | I like to take on challenges in my work. |
(OFV: J’aime relever des défis dans mon travail.) | ||
16 | 62 | I have a relationship of trust with the people at my job. |
(OFV: J’ai une relation de confiance avec les gens de mon travail.) | ||
17 | 45 | I find meaning in my work. |
(OFV: Je trouve un sens à mon travail.) | ||
18 | 17 | I feel that I know what to do in my job. |
(OFV: J’ai le sentiment de savoir quoi faire dans mon travail.) | ||
19 | 3 | I feel that the people I work with recognize my abilities. |
(OFV: J’ai l’impression que les gens avec qui je travaille reconnaissent ma compétence.) | ||
20 | 27 | I want to contribute to achieving the goals of my organization. |
(OFV: Je désire contribuer à l’atteinte des objectifs de mon organisation.) | ||
21 | 65 | I feel that I am accepted as I am by the people I work with. |
(OFV: Je me sens accepté comme je suis par les gens avec qui je travaille.) | ||
22 | 50 | I have a great sense of fulfillment at work. |
(OFV: J’ai un grand sentiment d’accomplissement au travail.) | ||
23 | 75 | I know my value as a worker. |
(OFV: Je connais ma valeur comme travailleur.) | ||
24 | 31 | I feel that I am a full member of my organization. |
(OFV: Je sens que je suis un membre à part entière de mon organisation.) | ||
25 | 22 | I want to be involved in my organization beyond my work duties. |
(OFV: J’ai envie de m’impliquer dans mon organisation au-delà de ma charge de travail.) |
1.2 Correction Key
Interpersonal Fit at Work: Items 1, 6, 11, 16, 21
Thriving at Work: Items 2, 7, 12, 17, 22
Feeling of Competency at Work: Items 3, 8, 13, 18, 23
Perceived Recognition at Work: Items 4, 9, 14, 19, 24
Desire for Involvement at Work: Items 5, 10, 15, 20, 25
1.3 Cotation Procedure
Scores by dimension and/or total score may be used. Dimensional or total scores are obtained by averaging the scores for dimensional or total questionnaire items.
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Dagenais-Desmarais, V., Savoie, A. What is Psychological Well-Being, Really? A Grassroots Approach from the Organizational Sciences. J Happiness Stud 13, 659–684 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9285-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9285-3