Work analysis tool for higher education: Development and validation of the german student measure WA-S Screening

BACKGROUND: Work demands, resources and stressors affecting health, well-being and motivation also exist in the work of university students. There is a shortage of measures for analyzing work characteristics in this setting. OBJECTIVE: This article addresses that shortage of measures and describes the development and the validation of the short Work Analysis Measure for Students (WA-S Screening). METHODS: In study 1 (N = 422 students in Austria) the final version of the measure was developed based on analyzing the factor structure and psychometric properties of items and scales. Study 2 (N = 333 German-speaking students in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) was conducted for a cross validation and analyzing the criterion validity. RESULTS: An eight-scale structure of the WA-S Screening was supported in study 1 and 2. The scales have shown to be significantly associated with burnout and work engagement in study 2. CONCLUSIONS: The examinations indicate that the WA-S Screening is a short, reliable and valid instrument to identify critical, health-promoting work characteristics in the context of studying at university.