Construction and Validation of Challenging Job Demands Scale

Abstract

Challenging job demands are those which require the use of high energy and thus may impair health but bring positive consequences too. The present study aimed to construct a measure for challenging job demands for university teachers. Methods: The study is based upon the model developed by Makhdoom and Malik (2018) which proposed three challenging job demands including Regulatory Load, Social Load, and Cognitive Demands. On the basis of the literature review, Time Pressure was also studied as a factor. First of all, the authors created an initial item pool of 19 items which were categorized into four factors. The finalized item pool was administered on two independent samples drawn from various universities of Pakistan. In the first stage, the university teachers (N = 201) from three universities of the Punjab province were approached. EFA concluded three-factor and 13 items, which were then administered upon a sample of university teachers (N = 600). Results: The CFA confirmed the three-factor structure of challenging job demands including Time Pressure, Cognitive Demands and Social Load. All the fit indices were within an acceptable range. The values of factor loadings and Cronbach Alpha justified the internal consistency and psychometric soundness of the newly developed measure. Discussion: The study concludes a psychometrically sound scale to measure challenging job demands in university teachers which will be helpful in future studies. The limitations of the study along with suggestions for future research and important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.