Towards work life fulfilment: Scale development and validation

Abstract

This research aimed to develop and validate a multidimensional reflective-reflective measure of work-life fulfilment (WLF) through four studies. In study 1, spread across three phases, the researchers identified relevant dimensions and the nomological network of WLF using the Antecedents-Dimensions-Outcomes systematic review framework, further cross-validated with focus group discussions. Items were generated in the second phase and assessed for face validity by a focus group. Content validity indices (CVI) at item-level (I-CVI) and scale-level (S-CVI) and modified kappa were estimated in the third phase to select final items for pilot testing in study 2. Responses from 100 professionals from the IT/ITeS sector were subjected to exploratory factor analysis upon testing for the factorability of data. In study 3, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on an additional sample of 564 IT/ITeS professionals, and the latent structure was validated through reliability analyses, discriminant and convergent validity assessments, and tetrad analysis. The presence of common method bias was also checked and invalidated. Study 4, conducted on an additional sample of 621 IT/ITeS and BFSI professionals, tested the relationship of WLF with three antecedents, namely resonant leadership, relational civility and psychological capital, to establish its nomological validity and outcome variable burnout, to establish predictive validity. The scale was further cross-validated on 325 professionals from the BFSI sector in the fifth study to test generalizability. The results confirm work prowess, work-life balance, rewards and recognition, healthy lifestyle, relationship management, and self-transcendence as the distinct dimensions of WLF. The study contributes to the literature with a unique, six-dimensional, 26-item, second-order, reflective-reflective measurement model of WLF that is psychometrically fit for use on samples across diverse contexts.