Boredom at work is a concern, as both employees and organisations are affected by the
negative effects that this phenomenon holds. Workplace boredom is becoming an
increasingly common occurrence within organisations and most employees are susceptible to
it. To date, no reliable and valid scale for workplace boredom is available in South Africa.
This study aimed to validate the Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS) within the South African
context in an attempt to provide a scale suitable for South African employees.
The general objective of the study was to determine the reliability and validity of the
workplace boredom scale (DUBS) within the South African context by means of
investigating the reliability, factorial validity, convergent validity, predictive validity and
discriminant validity. A cross-sectional research approach was utilised by means of a random
convenience sample (N = 490) from organisations within the manufacturing and logistics
sectors. The reliability of the workplace boredom scale was established by investigating the
alpha and omega values. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the
factor structure of the DUBS and to ascertain factorial validity. In order to prove convergent
and discriminant validity, the relationship between workplace boredom and similar
theoretical constructs (work engagement, workload, job satisfaction and organisational
commitment) as well as constructs assumed to differ from work place boredom (i.e. gender)
was investigated. Finally, regression with regard to one-directional relationships was
examined between workplace boredom and appropriate outcomes (work engagement,
organisational commitment and job satisfaction) in order to establish predictive validity.
The results indicate that the DUBS consists of a one-factor structure, and that this factor has
acceptable reliability. Relationships between workplace boredom and work engagement,
workload, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention were negatively
and practically significantly correlated. No significant relationship existed between
workplace boredom and gender. Workplace boredom had significant negative regressions to
work engagement, job satisfaction and organisational commitment.
Recommendations are made for use in practice and additionally for future research. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/15729 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Van Wyk, Susanna Maria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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