The development and initial validation of the Decent Work Scale.
Decent work is positioned as the centerpiece of the recently developed Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016). However, to date, no instrument exists which assesses all 5 components of decent work from a psychological perspective. In the current study, we developed the Decent Work Scale (DWS) and demonstrated several aspects of validity with 2 samples of working adults. In Study 1 (N = 275), a large pool of items were developed and exploratory factor analysis was conducted resulting in a final 15-item scale with 5 factors/subscales corresponding to the 5 components of decent work: (a) physically and interpersonally safe working conditions, (b) access to health care, (c) adequate compensation, (d) hours that allow for free time and rest, and (e) organizational values that complement family and social values. In Study 2 (N = 589), confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a 5-factor, bifactor model offered the strongest and most parsimonious fit to the data. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance models were tested demonstrating that the structure of the instrument did not differ across gender, income, social class, and majority/minority racial/ethnic groups. Finally, the overall scale score and 5 subscale scores correlated in the expected directions with similar constructs supporting convergent and discriminant evidence of validity, and subscale scores evidenced predictive validity in the prediction of job satisfaction, work meaning, and withdrawal intentions. The development of this scale provides a useful tool for researchers and practitioners seeking to assess the attainment of decent work among employed adults. (PsycINFO Database Record
Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Ryan D
RD
Duffy
Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University.
Blake A
BA
Allan
Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Jessica W
JW
England
Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Department, Boston College.
David L
DL
Blustein
Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Kelsey L
KL
Autin
Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Richard P
RP
Douglass
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Coimbra.
Joaquim
0000-0003-1733-5854
J
Ferreira
Eduardo J R
0000-0002-9305-9073
EJR
Santos
D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace