Exploring a Unified Concept of Occupational Well-being through Validation in an Applied Setting

Abstract

This study unifies divergent conceptualizations of occupational well-being (OWB) to clearly define the construct based on a well-articulated theory. It also validates a new measure of OWB in a practical setting in order to provide researchers and practitioners with an instrument for assessing this construct. The study defines OWB as a positive evaluation of various aspects of one’s job experiences and includes cognitive, affective, and motivational/behavioral components. It proposes that OWB is a multidimensional construct that is composed of two related but distinct dimensions of subjective occupational well-being (SOW-B) and psychological occupational well-being (POW-B). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the distinction between these two dimensions, while a second-order factor analysis showed that these dimensions tap different aspects of a more general underlying concept of OWB. Significant and strong relationships were found between OWB and both discretionary effort and turnover intention providing support for construct validity. Weak or no support was found for relationships between the various components of OWB and select demographics suggesting that future research should examine how the work context plays a moderating role in these relationships.