New ways of working scale development and psychometric properties: validation in higher education institutions in the GCC countries

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to develop a scale for new ways of working (NWW) in higher education institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The study also intends to validate the psychometric properties of the developed scale. Design/methodology/approach This study targeted the academic staff of universities in the GCC region. Out of the 1,200 questionnaires distributed, only 1,016 questionnaires represented valid responses. Because there was not a unified theory for NWW, the authors developed a six-dimension tool that covered all virtual work aspects and psychometrically validated. Findings The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a structural model of six factors: flexible work location; work–life balance; communication; workplace design at home; culture and motivation; and satisfaction. The model showed a satisfactory fit. The scale consisted of 32 items with a high Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.85, which demonstrated good internal consistency. The results also suggested that the NWW scale had adequate convergent and divergent validity. Research limitations/implications The data for the current study is a cross-sectional that represents a single sector; therefore, it would be more interesting to include more sectors. The study findings contribute to the ongoing debate in feasibility and usefulness of NWW pre, during and post-Covid-19 crisis. This research has offered a new scale for measuring NWW that fits dynamic educational environment where continuous learning and innovation are the key critical factors for survival. For this reason, further future studies need to refine, validate and improve the current scale structure. Also, because the current scale is by no means conclusive, future studies may look at other work characteristics and contextual factors that determine the success of NWW. Practical implications Practitioners can use the results of the current study as an intervention tool to leverage NWW acceptance to regain benefits and mitigate negative consequences. In addition, policymakers may use the scale as an evaluation tool to examine the readiness of higher education institutions to counter the COVID-19 crisis. Originality/value The originality of this work stems from the fact that it is the first study to develop a scale for NWW and test its psychometric properties in higher education institutions in the GCC countries, a domain that has been ignored by the extant literature.

A predictive structural model of new ways of working on innovative work behaviour: Higher education perspective in the Gulf Cooperation Council

“…This means that the NWW practices scale has high reliability and discriminant validity. This aligns with the results of previous studies (Almahamid et al, 2021;Gerards et al, 2018Gerards et al, , 2021 that considered NWW as a five-factorial variable.…”

“…Contrasting previous studies, no significant direct relationship was found between advanced ICT communications (β = .12, P > .05) and IWB. This result was unexpected, counterproductive and contrary to the results of prior studies (Almahamid et al, 2021;Blok et al, 2012;Demerouti et al, 2014;Kingma, 2019;ten Brummelhuis et al, 2012), which asserted the importance of using advanced ICT-based communications tools to perform daily work tasks. This result could be attributed to two reasons.…”

“…In the management literature, NWW dates to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of NWW, prioritizing it among practitioners and researchers (Almahamid et al, 2021;Duque et al, 2020;Gerards et al, 2020Gerards et al, , 2021, as it has compelled business organizations, government institutions and educational institutions to close their doors to customers, citizens, and students, as well as managerial and academic staff. Thus, NWW has become mandatory to conduct the activities of educational institutions.…”

“…NWW were measured using 22 items developed byAlmahamid et al (2021) and validated in higher education in the GCC countries. Theseitems measure four dimensions: flexible work design, workplace design at home, advanced ICT-based communications and culture of innovation, which are necessary work resources to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.…”

“…Culture of innovation includes four items (e.g., 'Organization is committed to creating innovative and inspiring culture').The mediating variables include work-life balance and job satisfaction. Work-life balance and job satisfaction were measured using items adopted fromAlmahamid et al (2021). Work-life balance includes six items (e.g., 'I set limits on the amount of work that I do to save my own personal time').…”