Psychometric Properties of a Short Version of Effort-Reward Imbalance in Blue-Collar Workers

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to test psychometric properties of a short version of Effort Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire and to identify its relationship with job demand in blue-collar workers.

Methods: In this study, we sought to translate the ERI short form into Korean and to examining the psychometric properties in a sample of 250 blue-collar workers who are working at small companies. The internal consistency reliability, structural validity, and criterion (content) validity were analyzed.

Results: The Cronbach’s alpha for the three scales were 0.75, 0.74, and 0.72, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the data with the theoretical structure (RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.84). Evidence of criterion validity was demonstrated. A significant synergistic interaction effect of ERI and overcommitment on Job stress (demand) was observed (synergic effect 7.35, CI 2.89-18.52).

Conclusion: The short version of the ERI questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties with Korean blue-collar workers. This supports further use of the instrument in future research and practice for working population in Korea.