Psychometric characteristics of the Individual work performance questionnaire

Abstract

In the current study we examined psychometric properties of the “Individual work performance” questionnaire developed by L. Koopmans et al. The construct of individual work performance characterizes behaviors of employees, which correspond to the organization's goals, which reflect their “goodwill” as well as self-control towards work activities. The individual work performance involves three forms of behavior: task performance characterizes the ability to plan time and to prioritize, contextual performance reflects the desire to perform various and extra tasks, initiativeness, and aspiration for professional enhancement; counterproductive behavior reflects the tendency to discuss problems arising at work with colleagues and other people, as well as tendency to focus on the negative aspects of work. The original questionnaire aimed to obtain subjective evaluations of these behaviors. Therefore, it allowed, firstly, to describe the employees’ behavior by means of specific characteristics, and secondly, to compare those characteristics among employees from different professional fields. The current study involved 286 participants aged 20 to 65 years (M = 35.04), 48% men. External validity of the questionnaire was examined with the Utrecht work engagement scale and the questionnaire of professional motivation. The structure of the questionnaire was found to be similar to the original one. In particular, three factors (scales) emerged: task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive behavior. The closest associations were found between the features of individual work performance and the characteristics of autonomous professional motivation. The scales of the questionnaire demonstrated high reliability scores. Results of the study enable usage of the individual work performance questionnaire as a tool for the examination of the behavioral characteristics in the workplace, including comparison of representatives of different professions.