Employee Sustainable Performance (E-SuPer): Theoretical Conceptualization, Scale Development, and Psychometric Properties.

Tianchang Ji,Toon W Taris,Maria C W Peeters,Jan De Jonge

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910497

Abstract

Although the concept of employee sustainable performance has received considerable attention in the practitioner literature, academic research still lacks a clear conceptualization and empirical operationalization of this concept. Defining employee sustainable performance as a regulatory process in which an individual worker enduringly and efficiently achieves particular desired work goals while maintaining a satisfactory level of well-being, this paper describes a corresponding instrument called E-SuPer, and examines its psychometric properties. The E-SuPer instrument was tested and cross-validated using two cross-sectional survey studies (n = 153 and n = 160), focusing on factorial validity, internal consistency, and discriminant and concurrent validity. Psychometric findings across the two samples revealed that the E-SuPer instrument consists of one general factor of ten items with good internal consistency. Discriminant validity and concurrent validity with other relevant constructs (task performance, counterproductive work behavior, and employee vitality) were also confirmed, showing promising results. Finally, theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research, are outlined.

Highlights

An exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis were performed in Sample A and Sample B, respectively
This study introduced a novel concept called employee sustainable performance, which was defined as a regulatory process in which an individual worker enduringly and efficiently achieves particular desired work goals while maintaining satisfactory levels of well-being
As far as construct validity by means of factor analysis is concerned, our findings indicated that the E-SuPer instrument has a good single-factor structure on Sample A by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which was successfully validated in Sample B by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), though with minor modifications in two error terms relations

Summary

Introduction

In the academic literature, these two topics are rarely studied together. This is unfortunate, as high employee performance may, in the short run as well as in the long run, have adverse consequences for employee health and well-being, which could in turn negatively affect later employee performance [6,7,8,9]. We argue that in order to promote employees’ future job performance (i.e., to make it sustainable), it is imperative to simultaneously consider both employee performance and employee health and well-being [10,11]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion