The perceived stress-at-work scale

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of a new short scale (4 items) for assessing workers’ perception of stress at work, which could be used along with organizational level questionnaires. Methods: Public sector employees (N = 883), working in an Italian municipality, received a booklet containing the ERI-Q, the HSE-MS Indicator Tool, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the new Perceived Stress-at-Work Scale. Findings: Results showed good reliability of the Perceived Stress-at-Work Scale (Cronbach’s alpha = .80) and strong correlations with two concurrent measures of individual-level work strain, the ERI-Q imbalance score (r = .63, p < .001) and the ERI-Q overcommitment scale (r = .52, p < .001). Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relationships among organizational risk factors, measured by the HSE-MS Indicator Tool, perceived stress at work, and workers’ life satisfaction. Three organizational dimensions (Demand, Relationships, and Role) resulted to be significantly associated with perceived stress at work, explaining about 45% of its variance. Moreover, the effect organizational risk factors on workers’ life satisfaction turned out to be mediated by workers’ perception of stress at work. Discussion: The new perceived stress-at-work scale resulted to be a valid and reliable instrument, displaying good internal consistency and strong correlations with other individual-level measures of work strain. Moreover, the scale could be used to highlight the critical intervention targets for risk stress management strategies, when applied along with an organizational level questionnaire such as the HSE-MS Indicator Tool.