Can scales assessing psychological and social factors at work be used across different occupations?

Abstract

Aim: To assess the psychometric properties of a comprehensive tool for assessing psychosocial work characteristics (the QPS $_{Nordic}$ ), focusing on measurement invariance (MI) across occupations.

Methods: QPS $_{Nordic}$ consists of 26 scales covering task, individual, and organizational aspects of work. Multiple group confirmatory factor analyses were performed in order to elucidate MI across a variety of occupational groups.

Subjects: Private sector employees and health care workers from the public sector participated. Equal size (n=500) groups from six different occupations were drawn and entered in multiple group confirmatory factor analyses for assessment of MI.

Results: Nine of the 24 analysed scales functioned well across all occupational groups and could thus be used for valid comparisons across professions. The majority of the remaining scales showed MI at least across some groups.

Conclusion: With some exceptions, the QPS $_{Nordic}$ has good psychometric properties. Scales measuring organizational aspects of work could also be used across professional groups, enabling valid comparisons between differing workplaces and occupations.