The structure and measurement of overtime work: A scale development study among Chinese employees

There existed a lack of measuring instruments to clarify employees' psychological motivation for working overtime, which challenged the management of employees' occupational safety and health. Therefore, this article conducted three studies to develop and validate the Motivation for Overtime Work among Chinese Employees (MOW-CE) questionnaire. Study 1 developed the initial questionnaire, consisting of 55 questions. Study 2 involved a formal questionnaire exploring overtime work motivation, which was based on the data obtained from 208 valid questionnaires. Reliability analysis, item analysis, and principal component analysis were carried out to examine six factors, including promotion, belongingness, survival, companion, standard, and aimless, consisting of 21 items. Based on these data, Study 2 constructed the progressive model of external-internal overtime work motivation. Finally, Study 3 validated the formal questionnaire by analyzing the data obtained from 1412 valid questionnaires. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed good convergence validity and structural discrimination, and the questionnaire also passed the reliability test. This study proposes a new questionnaire that facilitates an understanding of why individuals work overtime according to an advanced model of external-internal motivations.

Automated summary

This study developed and validated the Motivation for Overtime Work among Chinese Employees (MOW-CE) questionnaire, which includes six factors: promotion, belongingness, survival, companion, standard, and aimless, providing a new tool for understanding individual motivations for working overtime.