In recent years, the construct of work engagement as well as methods for its measurement have generated growing interest in the field of occupational psychology. In this study, we aim to contribute to the current work engagement literature by investigating the possible advantages of single-item measures of work engagement by analysing their psychometric feasibility. Testing the validity of a single-item measure tool within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources theory, we have found similar pattern of correlations of single-item measures of work engagement with exhaustion, disengagement, job resources and job demands as for the well-established multi-item measure the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The reliability of single-item measures tested with factor analysis and the attenuation formula was estimated to be in the range of between .60 and .70, the figure depending on the particulars of the estimation methods. Our findings provide an initial modicum of evidence that, if a research purpose requires it, or if the use of a multi-item measurement tool is overly restrictive or costly, then a single-item measure of work engagement could be effectively adopted.
Artykuł prezentuje hipotezę, iż istotnym współczesnym wyzwaniem dla polskiej społeczności akademickiej jest punktoza, rozumiana jako wartość kulturowa, wskazująca, iż jednym z najważniejszych celów pracy naukowej jest publikowanie i zdobywanie punktów za publikacje naukowe. Jako element systemu aksjo-normatywnego stanowi ona regułę wyznaczającą normy i kształtującą zachowania akademików, mając przy tym szereg niezamierzonych negatywnych konsekwencji. Punktoza przyczynia się do rozwoju systemów parametrycznej oceny pracowników naukowych, które utożsamiają indywidualny poziom naukowy z miejscem publikacji, generując nietrafne i nierzetelne oceny pracy badawczej. Punktoza może negatywnie wpływać na zdrowie naukowców, obniża jakość prowadzonych badań i nie zwiększa, wbrew intuicyjnym oczekiwaniom, motywacji do podnoszenia poziomu naukowego. Poprawa jakości nauki nie nastąpi przez zmienianie zasad ewaluacji działalności naukowej, ale jedynie poprzez zmianę leżącej u podłoża tych zasad wartości kulturowej, wskazującej publikacje w określonych miejscach jako cel pracy naukowej.
In the academic community within Poland, there is an ongoing debate about the optimal strategies for a redesign of PhD programs; however, the views of PhD students in relation to contemporary doctoral study programs are not widely known. Therefore, in this article, we aim to answer the following questions: (1) what are the demands and the resources for doctoral studies at the Jagiellonian University (JU) as experienced by PhD students? (2) how are these demands and resources related to study burnout and engagement? To gain answers to these questions, we conducted an on-line opinion-based survey of doctoral students. As a result, 326 JU PhD students completed a questionnaire measuring 26 demands and 23 resources along with measures of study burnout and levels of engagement. The results revealed that the demands of doctoral studies at the JU (as declared by at least half of the respondents) are: the requirement to participate in classes that are perceived as an unproductive use of time, the lack of remuneration for tutoring courses with students, a lack of information about possible career paths subsequent to graduation, the use of PhD students as low-paid workers at the university, a lack of opportunities for financing their own research projects, and an inability to take up employment while studying for a doctoral degree. In terms of resources, at least half of the doctoral students pointed to: discounts on public transport and the provision of free-of-charge access to scientific journals. Analyzing both the frequency and strength of the relationships between resources/demands and burnout/engagement, we have identified four key problem areas: a lack of support from their supervisor, role ambiguity within University structures for PhD students, the conflict between paid work and doctoral studies, and the mandatory participation in classes as a student.