Measuring the intangible: Development of the Spirit at Work Scale

Abstract

The Spirit at Work Scale (SAWS) is a new 18 item measure assessing the experience of spirituality at work. Three hundred and thirty-three employees of a large mid-western university, ranging in occupations from the trades through senior administration, responded to a 102 item instrument assessing aspects of spirit at work. Factor analyses revealed 4 distinct factors: engaging work, sense of community, spiritual connection, and mystical experience. Using the results of item analyses and factor analyses, 18 items were selected to constitute the new scale. Analyses reveal high internal consistency for both the total scale (á = .93) and the four subscales (á's from .86 to .91). There was no relationship between SAWS scores and age, gender, education, or income. However, SAWS scores were related to occupation and marital status. Management and professional staff reported significantly higher levels of spirit at work than did administrative, clerical, technical, or trades staff. Individuals who were separated, divorced, or widowed reported more spirit at work than those individuals who were single. Significant relationships between some demographic factors and some of the subscales were also found. SAWS is a short, psychometrically sound, and easy to administer measure that holds much promise for use in research and practice.