Being Busy, Feeling Poor: The Scale Development and Function Validation of Perceived Time Poverty

Abstract

The advancement of the study of time poverty in the field of organizational behavior has been stymied by the lack of a validated time poverty measure. We proposed a new way of seeing freely disposable time by introducing the concept of perceived time poverty, distinguishing it from related concepts, and conducting two phases to develop a scale and test our theoretical model of the effects of perceived time poverty. Our study aimed to develop and validate a nomological network of perceived time poverty based on the definition of time poverty in organizations. Specifically, we conducted phase 1 to develop a measure for PTP and demonstrate its psychometric properties. We conducted phase 2 to test the nomological network of self-reported time poverty using three time-lagged surveys. Together, these studies provide evidence of the psychometric validity of the new scale developed for assessing employee perceived time poverty using self-reports reports. We discuss the implications of the new scale developed to study time poverty in organizations, and future research directions using the new scale are offered.