Risky Instrumental Behavior: Conceptualization, Measurement Development, and Validation

Abstract

The current research develops and validates a measure of employee Risky Instrumental Behavior (RIB), a new construct capturing a novel form of employee discretionary behavior which, while presumed to enhance one's performance, also poses physical and/or psychological risks to one’s well-being. To assess RIB, we refined and validated a 7-item scale using six samples of individuals employed in various lines of work in three countries (USA, Israel, and China). Findings indicate that the RIB scale: (a) demonstrates high reliability and content validity; (b) is positively correlated, yet distinct from, other established employee discretionary work behaviors such as organizational citizenship behavior, pro-social rule breaking behavior, and working excessively; and (c) demonstrates incremental validity in the prediction of important employee outcomes including physical health, resource depletion, work exhaustion, and supervisor-rated performance, over and above demographics and other related discretionary work behaviors. We also identify situational (work pressure) and personality (conscientiousness and neuroticism) factors as antecedents of RIB. The theoretical and empirical implications of capturing this novel form of employee discretionary work behavior are discussed.