This study among 528 South African employees working in the construction industry examined the dimensionality of burnout and work engagement, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. On the basis of the literature, we predicted that cynicism and dedication are opposite ends of one underlying attitude dimension (called "identification"), and that exhaustion and vigor are opposite ends of one "energy" dimension. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that while the attitude constructs represent opposite ends of one continuum, the energy constructs do not-although they are highly correlated. These findings are also supported by the pattern of relationships between burnout and work engagement on the one hand, and predictors (i.e., work pressure, autonomy) and outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment, mental health) on the other hand. Implications for the measurement and conceptualization of burnout and work engagement are discussed.

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The aims of this study were to investigate the construct validity, construct equivalence and reliability of a measuring instrument of job demands and resources, and to assess the differences between the job demands and resources in different organisations in South Africa. Stratified, random samples (N = 2717) of employees in different organizations were taken. Five reliable factors were extracted using principal component analysis with a varimax rotation, namely overload, growth opportunities, organisational support, advancement, and job insecurity. All factors, except organisational support, showed acceptable equivalence for different organisations. Statistically significant differences were found between the perceptions of job demands and resources in different organisations.

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Orientation: The perceived organisational support for strength use (POSSU) scale determines the extent to which employees perceive that their organisations support them to use their strengths in the workplace.Research purpose: The purpose was to determine the validity and reliability of the new POSSU scale.Motivation for the study: There are instruments and studies that aim to identify and describe individual strengths. However, no instruments measure whether employees perceive that their organisations use their strengths in the workplace.Research design, approach and method: The authors used a cross-sectional field survey approach and an availability sample of employees (N = 165) who worked in the banking sector. They used exploratory factor analysis to test the factorial validity and to establish whether POSSU is an independent job resource. They performed regression analyses to examine whether POSSU is a significant predictor of outcomes.Main findings: The findings indicated a clear one-factor model with strong item loadings(α = .97). When the authors included other resources, they identified a five-factor model, where all the items loaded onto the supposed factors. POSSU was a significant predictor of burnout and engagement after controlling for job resources and a deficiency-based approach.Practical/managerial implications: A valid and reliable POSSU scale could lead to increased awareness about the use of employees’ strengths in organisations and help to determine their influence and value. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited research available in South Africa on the measurement of whether employees perceive that their organisations use their (the employees’) strengths.