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Cited by 88Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorWorkaholism, burnout, and well-beingEmployee Performance and Management

A Comparison of Three Job Engagement Measures: Examining their Factorial and Criterion‐Related Validity

Wefald, Andrew J., Mills, Maura J., Smith, Michael R., Downey, Ronald G.·2012·Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
DOI 10.1111/j.1758-0854.2011.01059.x
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Abstract

Background: Engagement is an emerging job attitude that purports to measure employees' psychological presence at and involvement in their work. This research compares three academic approaches to engagement, and makes recommendations regarding the most appropriate conceptualisation and measurement of the construct in future research. The current research also investigates whether any of these three approaches to engagement contribute unique variance to the prediction of turnover intentions above and beyond the predictive capacity of alternative constructs. Methods: An online survey was taken by 382 employees and managers from a mid‐sized financial institution. Results: Results failed to support either a multi‐ or unidimensional factor structure for the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) engagement measure. For the Shirom‐Melamed Vigor Measure (SMVM), a multi‐dimensional structure was identified as a good fit, while a unidimensional structure fit poorly. The uni‐factorial structure of Britt's engagement measure was confirmed. The Schaufeli measure of engagement was a strong predictor of work outcomes; however, when controlling for job satisfaction and affective commitment, that measure lost its ability to predict intentions to leave. Two components of the Shirom vigor measure held their predictive validity. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings suggest that the Shirom vigor measure may provide better insight into whether and how much a person is ‘into’ his or her job. The Schaufeli measure was a good predictor of important work outcomes, but when job satisfaction and affective commitment were controlled, it lost its predictive validity. We were not able to confirm the three‐factor structure of the Schaufeli measure. Two components of the Shirom vigor measure predicted turnover intentions after controlling for job satisfaction and affective commitment, suggesting less overlap with those constructs than the Schaufeli measure of engagement. This research adds important information on the nature of engagement and is expected to contribute toward a better understanding of the construct itself, as well as its measurement.

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  • Each SMVM subscale negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion (mean r = −0.17), and positively correlated with personal accomplishment (mean r = 0.47) and another measure of work engagement (r = 0.45-0.66).

    “Each subscale negatively correlated with a measure of emotional exhaustion (burnout) (mean r = − 0.17), and positively correlated with personal accomplishment (mean r = 0.47) and another measure of work engagement (r = 0.45–0.66) [27, 80].”

    From Patient-reported outcome measures for life engagement in mental health: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [80]

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Authors
Wefald, A. J., Mills, M. J., Smith, M. R., & Downey, R. G.
Affiliations
  • Kansas State University (US)
  • Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US)
Corresponding author
Wefald, Andrew J.
ORCID
Venue
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-10-27
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
67-90
ISSN
  • 1758-0846 (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-0854
DOI
10.1111/j.1758-0854.2011.01059.x
OpenAlex
W2156023832
Cited by
88
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
FWCI
6.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Workaholism, burnout, and well-being
  • Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Employee Performance and Management
Keywords
work engagement, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, factor structure, criterion validity, turnover intention, job satisfaction, affective commitment, financial institution employees
MeSH terms
Adult, Employment, Female, Humans, Job Satisfaction, Male, Middle Aged, Personnel Turnover, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reproducibility of Results, Workload, Workplace

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