March 29, 2024 
Workplace Change Project

Institute of Behavioral ScienceUniversity of Colorado - Boulder | University of Puget Sound


Publications:


Summary Report, 1997

Edward S. Greenberg, University of Colorado, Boulder
Leon Grunberg, University of Puget Sound
(September, 1997)

This brief document summarizes key measures from our recent survey of the company employees. It is quite preliminary in nature. We will be doing more detailed, multivariate analyses over the next few months. These additional analyses will be available upon request.

Notes on reading the tables:
A. Each of the following scales sums the responses to several questions the company employees answered in a mail survey conducted between February and April of this year. Determination of which questions go together to form a meaningful scale is determined by statistical techniques that measure the unidimensionality and the internal consistency of items.
B. For each scale, we provide the range of possible scores, the mid-point of each range, the mean score for the entire sample, and the mean scores by paycode, as well as brief commentary.

Attitudes About One's Job

Job Security
meaning: How secure do the company employees feel about their jobs?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = strong sense of job security 3.00 - 12.00
(7.5)
8.77 8.16 8.54 9.05 9.11 8.98 9.54

Comments: The company employees feel relatively secure about their jobs-the mean score being well above the mid-point-but perhaps not as high as one might expect given the present expansion and bright economic prospects for the company. There are significant differences between paycodes, with hourlies feeling considerably less secure in their jobs than other employees, particularly managers.

Role Ambiguity
meaning: How clear are the company employees about their responsibilities and what is expected of them?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = more role ambiguity 4.00 - 20.00 (12.00) 8.35 7.82 7.48 8.53 8.92 8.72 8.93

Comments: The company employees have a pretty clear idea of what they are supposed to be doing, especially hourlies and general office employees. Managers and engineers live with the most role ambiguity.

Work Overload
meaning: Do the company employees feel overloaded or overworked?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = high overload on the job 3.00 - 15.00
(9.00)
9.41 8.60 9.16 9.09 10.00 9.93 10.67

Comments: The company employees do not feel especially overworked or overloaded, though the differences between codes 1 and 7 are striking, with hourlies feeling the least overloaded and managers the most.

Job Challenge
meaning: How challenging and stimulating do the company employees find their job to be? How much does their job allow them to use their skills and capacities?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = high challenge on job 3.00 - 15.00 (9.00) 10.31 9.82 10.45 10.11 9.90 10.96 11.54

Comments: The company employees find their jobs to be interesting and challenging, with managers scoring especially high on this measure. Somewhat surprising is the relatively low score on this scale for engineers.

Job Satisfaction
meaning: How satisfied are the company employees with their jobs?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = greater levels of job satisfaction 3.00 - 15.00 (9.00) 11.23 11.24 11.59 11.19 10.77 11.19 11.65

Comments: Though all the company employees score well above the midpoint of the scale, both the mean score and the highest score per paycode category are significantly below national scores on job satisfaction. Also, paycode does not make much difference on this measure, with all categories clustered fairly closely together.

Job Stress
meaning: How pressured, stressed, and hassled do the company employees feel
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = greater levels of job stress 0.00 - 18.00 (9.00) 10.79 10.16 10.30 9.96 10.59 11.01 13.42

Comments: Employees in all paycode categories score above the midpoint of the job stress scale. Hourlie and general office employees feel the least stressed whereas managers score considerably higher than all other employees.

Attitudes About the company and the company's Top Management

Commitment to the company
meaning: How committed to and proud of the company are employees?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = greater organizational commitment 3.00 - 15.00 (9.00) 10.04 10.14 10.24 9.77 9.33 9.84 10.97

Comments: The company employees score barely above the "neutral" position with regard to their positive attitudes toward the company. Engineers are least committed to the company; managers are the most committed.

Trust in Management Integrity
meaning: How much do the company employees trust and believe in top management?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = high trust, high belief in management integrity 4.00 - 20.09 (12.00) 10.21 9.04 11.05 10.53 10.44 10.77 11.68

Comments: With the exception of paycode 7 (which barely reaches the "neutral" midpoint position), all paycodes hold negative attitudes about the integrity of top management, with hourlies by far the most negative.

Belief in the Competence of Top Management
meaning: How competent and effective is the company's top management?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = high trust, high belief in management competence 5.00 - 25.00 (15.00) 13.38 12.15 14.63 13.34 13.70 13.99 14.97

Comments: The company employees in general do not think well of top management's competence. Only paycode 7 employees reach as high as the "neutral" position, while hourlies hold especially negative attitudes.

Perceived Organizational Support
meaning: How much does the company care about, notice, and appreciate its employees?
Range and midpoint of Scale Mean Score Score by Paycode
      1 2 3 4 5 7
high score = high perceived organizational support 4.00 - 20.00 (12.00) 10.35 9.58 11.08 10.44 9.96 10.85 11.83

Comments: In general, the company employees do not believe they get much support from or are appreciated by the company. Again, only paycode 7 comes close to the neutral position on the scale, with hourlies and engineers feeling least appreciated and supported.

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