The application of single-item measures has the potential to help applied researchers address conceptual, methodological, and empirical challenges. Based on a large-scale evidence-based approach, we empirically examined the degree to which various constructs in the organizational sciences can be reliably and validly assessed with a single item. In study 1, across 91 selected constructs, 71.4% of the single-item measures demonstrated strong if not very strong definitional correspondence (as a measure of content validity). In study 2, based on a heterogeneous sample of working adults, we demonstrate that the majority of single-item measures examined demonstrated little to no comprehension or usability concerns. Study 3 provides evidence for the reliability of the proposed single-item measures based on test-retest reliabilities across the three temporal conditions (1 day, 2 weeks, 1 month). In study 4, we examined issues of construct and criterion validity using a multi-trait, multi-method approach. Collectively, 75 of the 91 focal measures demonstrated very good or extensive validity, evidencing moderate to high content validity, no usability concerns, moderate to high test-retest reliability, and extensive criterion validity. Finally, in study 5, we empirically examined the argument that only conceptually narrow constructs can be reliably and validly assessed with single-item measures. Results suggest that there is no relationship between subject matter expert evaluations of construct breadth and reliability and validity evidence collected across the first four studies. Beyond providing an off-the-shelf compendium of validated single-item measures, we abstract our validation steps providing a roadmap to replicate and build upon. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Organizations rarely invest in contingent employees, at least relative to the human resources efforts commonly afforded to permanent workers -but should they? Traditional social exchange theory suggests that motivation and loyalty should be difficult to cultivate in short-term, fixed-term relationships like contingent employment. However, a novel social exchange model (i.e., the anchoring model) suggests that socioemotional exchange relationships can develop quickly in response to highly salient "anchoring events." We position employee onboarding as a positive anchoring event that can quickly and durably drive contingent workers' socioemotional exchange in the form of work engagement, self-reported task performance, and intent to return to the employing organization. Specifically, we develop and test a temporally grounded process model based on the three proposed stages of the anchoring model. Our model was supported across two studies, an initial cross-sectional evaluation of the basic model within a heterogenous sample of contingent workers (n = 121), followed by a three-wave evaluation of the more detailed process model among an organizational sample of seasonal workers (n = 378). Findings provide evidence that the anchoring model, including the expanded framework developed here, explains contingent workers' attitudinal and behavioral responses to human resources initiatives in a way that traditional organizational theories have not fully achieved. Finally, recommendations for effectively managing contingent workers, through onboarding as well as through other efforts such as training and development, are also discussed.

The first purpose of this study is to develop a Korean version of the counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) scale suited for white-collar employees (Study 1). The second purpose of this study is to examine the indirect effect of employee's work-life conflict on their organizational commitment and CWBs through the resource loss and negative emotion (Study 2). In Study 1, we collected a CWBs-item pool through the literature review, open-ended questionnaire and interviews. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis with the data from 315 employees and found a four-factor structure of CWBs (counterfeit, verbally hostile behavior, withdrawal, and production deviance) consisting of 13 items. The results from a confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of the four-factor structure. In Study 2, we hypothesized that employees who suffer from the work-life conflict perceive resource loss and this resource loss yields employees' negative emotion and the subsequent decrease in organizational commitment and the increase in CWBs. Based on the data from a sample of 450 employees, a structural equation modeling analysis was conducted. The results revealed that the work-life conflict had a negative effect on organizational commitment and a positive effect on CWBs. Also, these relationships were sequentially mediated by the resource loss and negative emotion, supporting for the research hypotheses. Finally, theoretical and practical implications, limitation and suggestion for future research were discussed.

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The author name Maura Mills should read: Maura J. Mills The original article has been corrected.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.