Work Engagement in Serbia: Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES)

Abstract

Work engagement is defined as a positive, affective-motivational state of work-related well-being characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) is the most frequently used measure of work engagement. The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Serbian versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9. The sample consisted of 860 employees from a number of organizations and jobs across Serbia. Based on the UWES-17 findings, the data confirm both the three-factor and one-factor solutions by giving a slight advantage to the three-factor solution. As for the UWES-9, based on the PCFA and CFA, the one-factor solution was obtained as the preferred one. Taking into account the UWES-9 reliability and correlation patterns of its subscales with other well-being variables, both one- and three-factor solutions of the UWES-9 are suggested for future research. Serbian versions of both the UWES-17 and UWES-9 have satisfactory psychometric properties with high reliability, factorial structure in line with the theoretical model, and good predictive validity. The study contributes to enhanced understanding of work engagement by offering an insight from the Serbian cultural and economic context, significantly different from the UWES originating setting. There is still a need for exploring how employees from Serbia conceptualize work engagement, as well as for further, more stringent investigating of the cultural invariance of the UWES factorial structure.

The influence of job satisfaction, resilience and work engagement on turnover intention among village doctors in China: a cross-sectional study

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Job crafting in Serbia: Serbian mixed-method validation of the Job Crafting Scale

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Brazil-Portugal Transcultural Adaptation of the UWES-9: Internal Consistency, Dimensionality, and Measurement Invariance

“…Being a recent and positive occupational measure, and due to its ease of use, the UWES has been translated into many languages (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2010 ), such as Serbian (Petrović et al, 2017 ), Spanish (Schaufeli et al, 2002a ; Hernandez-Vargas et al, 2016 ), Hebrew (Littman-Ovadia and Balducci, 2013 ), Chinese (Fong and Ng, 2012 ), Norwegian (Nerstad et al, 2010 ), Italian (Balducci et al, 2010 ), Japanese (Shimazu et al, 2008 ), and Portuguese (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2003 ; Vazquez et al, 2015 ), showing the robustness and relevance of the three-dimensional construct of work engagement among different cultures. Despite the recent literature review of Kulikowski ( 2017a ), in Table 1 we present a revision of some adapted versions based on the UWES-17 version or on reduced versions, using as criteria the UWES' application to workers in different countries, as well psychometric properties, considering not only confirmatory analysis referred by Kulikowski but also Exploratory Factor Analysis.…”