The Working Conditions Questionnaire: cross-cultural validation and scale refinement in six Ibero-American countries

Abstract

PurposeWorking conditions constitute an important predictor of worker's wellbeing and, consequently, of organizational outcomes. The Working Conditions Questionnaire is derived from a theoretical framework in which working conditions within the organization are formulated as a triple relationship between the environment, the method and the individual. Previous studies have assessed the psychometric properties of this instrument, but its measurement invariance has not been evaluated before. In this context, this study's objective was to examine and validate the dimensionality of the questionnaire and to evaluate its measurement invariance across six Ibero-American countries.Design/methodology/approachData collected from 7,404 professionals from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Spain were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsConstruct validity and reliability were confirmed. Also, results allowed to propose a refined version of the instrument in Spanish and Portuguese and confirmed its measurement invariance across six Ibero-American countries.Originality/valueThe study extends the current research by demonstrating the cross-cultural applicability of this instrument, improving future research in these six Ibero-American countries.

A new instrument to measure healthy workplace qualities: the People in the Office Scale

“…It complements existing tools (Chau et al, 2012;Duncan et al, 2013;Jancey et al, 2014;Scrima, 2015;Alonso Nuez et al, 2022), which have primarily focused on employees' activities as, in contrast, POS allows for assessing the work environment as it is perceived and utilized by the employees. Compared to other instruments that measure social relations in the workplace (Razak et al, 2016;Pacheco and Coello-Montecel, 2020), POS is specifically designed to consider a specialist as an agent of their professional life (Deci and Ryan, 2008) and assess individual affordances that contribute to personal well-being. As such, it is instrumental in identifying opportunities for modifying and enhancing these environments as needed.…”

“…Taking into account the high importance of the physical environment for employees' well-being and resilience of the organization, the lack of research instruments to measure the workplace characteristics is surprising. Existing tools largely focus on the organizational and physical activities (Chau et al, 2012;Duncan et al, 2013;Jancey et al, 2014;Alonso Nuez et al, 2022) or social relations and corporate culture (Scrima, 2015;Razak et al, 2016;Pacheco and Coello-Montecel, 2020). Perceived Remote Workplace Environment Quality Indicators, a tool recently developed by Mura et al (2023) measures both tangible workspace characteristics and subjective comfort perception but it is limited to remote work settings only.…”

Examining Work Ethic Across Latam Populations: Differences Between Ecuadorian and Chilean Workers

“…The socio-economic situation of Latin American countries has reconfigured its dynamics and growth projections due to the persistence and uncertainty about the pandemic, the maintenance of low investment, productivity, and the slow recovery of employment, as well as as the worsening of the social effects caused by the crisis (CEPAL, 2022). These factors highlight the importance of understanding the cultural differences between populations for the improvement of commercial relations, the exchange and adaptation of the labor force, and the development of companies (Ochoa & Coello, 2020). In this regard, a key issue that has received little attention in Latin American countries so far is the study of how ethical beliefs about work vary across borders (Ochoa & Coello, 2020).…”

“…These factors highlight the importance of understanding the cultural differences between populations for the improvement of commercial relations, the exchange and adaptation of the labor force, and the development of companies (Ochoa & Coello, 2020). In this regard, a key issue that has received little attention in Latin American countries so far is the study of how ethical beliefs about work vary across borders (Ochoa & Coello, 2020).…”