The convergent-discriminant validity of the Workplace Attachment Scale (WAS)

Workplace attachment is defined as the affective bond resulting from the interaction between a person and his/her organizational environment. Several studies have shown that when employees are able to customize their workplace, they are more attached to it, and this increases the indices of the quality of work life such as job satisfaction, wellbeing and performance. These findings emphasize the importance of having a valid and reliable measure to assess workplace attachment. The aim is to check the convergent and discriminant validity of the Workplace Attachment Scale (WAS) by comparing it with two other scales: the Adult Attachment in the Workplace Scale (AAW) and the Affective Commitment Scale (ACS). The study involved 320 Italian employees working in the private and public sectors. Structural Equation Modelling was used to compare two models. Results show that the WAS is related to but independent of both the AAW and the ACS.