Employee work focus: Conceptualizing and developing a multidimensional scale

Abstract

Focus' has been conceptualized in a multitude of overlapping domains closely associated with constructs such as prioritizing, attention, concentration, cognitive control, etc. yet employee work focus (EWF) remains a fuzzy construct in the literature. This research aims at theorizing this construct and developing a scale to measure EWF. A qualitative inquiry was done using grounded theory and content analysis to develop an initial framework which was used to develop an initial pool of 40 items. Thirty-Two items were retained based on the values of the content validity ratio (CVR>0.51). Those were subjected to two rounds of exploratory factor analysis using a big sample pilot study followed by the main study with 434 professionals in total from service and manufacturing industries in Sri Lanka which resulted in a best-fit model of three distinct factors of EWF namely alternative search, right focus (ability to prioritize) and sustained focus (attention). Confirmatory factor analysis along with a series of scale development tests including convergent and discriminant validity tests led to the final 3-dimensional 14-item scale to measure EWF with factor loadings over 0.5 and Cronbach α of 0.853. The authors presented a theoretical framework of EWF based on the aforesaid factor structure along with insights from the qualitative inquiry conducted using 29 respondents and reviewing previous empirical findings in over 100 publications. Finally, the article highlighted the managerial and theoretical implications of the findings and related future research avenues.