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Development and validation of work ethic instrument to measure Chinese people's work‐related values and attitudes
Author(s) -
Li Jessica,
Huang MeiTzu,
HedayatiMehdiabadi Amir,
Wang Yarong,
Yang Xue
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
human resource development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1532-1096
pISSN - 1044-8004
DOI - 10.1002/hrdq.21374
Subject(s) - work ethic , psychology , context (archaeology) , work (physics) , construct (python library) , gratification , social psychology , centrality , morality , applied psychology , epistemology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , mathematics , combinatorics , computer science , engineering , biology , programming language , philosophy
Work ethic, a construct of work‐related values and attitudes, is believed to have a direct impact on how people approach work, work behavior, and on‐the‐job performance. When people experience social transformations, their work‐related values and attitudes change. The Chinese society has experienced significant transformations over an extended period of economic reform. This study is designed to develop and validate a work ethic instrument that can be used to measure current Chinese people's work‐related values and attitudes. To be sensitive to the Chinese context, this study follows a process of systematic cross‐context theory borrowing: borrowing a validated western work ethic instrument developed by Miller, Woehr, and Hudspeth (2002) and incorporating the findings of two qualitative studies on Chinese work ethic profile conducted previously in China to initiate the instrument development. This paper presents the research process including the data collection, instrument development, and instrument validation. A multigenerational and multiregional sample of 928 was used to conduct the study. The findings suggested an eight‐dimensional profile of Chinese workers' work ethic with a robust model fit. The eight dimensions are the concept of time, work centrality, morality, leisure, delay of gratification, hard work, group dynamics, and commitment to education. Implications for the field of human resource development, limitations of the study, and calls for future research are also presented.