A Romanian adaptation of the Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Psychometric properties and measurement invariance across general and educational sector employees

Abstract

Abstract Finding a balance between work-invested effort and recovery moments represents one of the key paths to preserving employee health and well-being. The present research aims to facilitate this line of study in the East European context by adapting the Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ; Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007) to the Romanian culture. Based on two cross-sectional designs, the REQ was administered online to Romanian employees from various occupations (N = 264, Study 1), and to a sample of Romanian higher education professionals (N = 176, Study 2). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, which supported the first-order four-factor structure and the two-factor second-order model of REQ. Nomological validity received support through the expected correlations between the recovery experiences factors and antecedent job demands (i.e., work pressure, role conflict) and an antecedent resource (i.e., autonomy). Criterion validity was sustained by the concurrent relationships with consequences of recovery (i.e., work engagement, job performance, mental and physical health complaints). REQ demonstrated excellent reliability with internal consistencies marginal to or above .90. Moreover, the instrument was invariant across genders and study populations. Overall, the present research suggests that the Romanian version of the REQ is an adequate measure that can be used in this cultural context to assess recovery experiences.