| Despite growing concern by researchers and practitioners about psychological health at work, the concept of well-being in the workplace is still misunderstood in the scientific community. Indeed, little effort has been made to develop knowledge about psychological well-being at work that is tied to the reality of employees. This thesis aims at developing a conceptualization of psychological well-being at work and a related psychometrically reliable instrumentation. To do so, two studies were carried out. First, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted among 20 French-speaking Canadian workers to identify, using critical incidents they experienced, manifestations of psychological well-being. The manifestations were classified according to a 2-axis model, namely, the reference level at which psychological well-being at work is experienced and the directionality through which it emerges. This model was then compared to existing context-free conceptualizations of psychological well-being; this analysis offered support to the model's convergent and divergent validity. Second, the Index of Psychological Well-Being at Work (IPWBW) was created based on the manifestations identified in the qualitative study, in order to ensure the latter's content validity. An experimental form of the questionnaire was administered to 1,080 Quebec workers. Exploratory factor analyses revealed an internal structure of 25 items and 5 dimensions, representing a second-order construct. The construct validity of the model was established by analyzing the intercorrelation pattern with various context-free measures of psychological well-being and distress. The results support the convergent validity of the instrument and demonstrate its divergent validity. Finally, the questionnaire shows satisfactory internal consistency. By way of conclusion, the results of the two studies are interpreted in the light of current knowledge on psychological well-being; the limits of the studies are outlined; and avenues for future research are proposed.;Keywords: Psychological health at work, Psychological well-being at work, Conceptualization, Psychometric instrument, Industrial-organizational psychology, Organizational behavior, Occupational health psychology, Positive psychology. |
