Participatory ergonomics: development of an employee assessment questionnaire

Despite being essential to the success of participatory ergonomics (PEs) programs, there are currently no known quantitative measures that capture the employees' perspective of PE program effectiveness. The present study addresses this need through the development of the Employee Perceptions of Participatory Ergonomics Questionnaire (EPPEQ). The questionnaire is designed to assess five key components that are based on a review of the available literature: Employee Involvement, Knowledge Base, Managerial Support, Employee Support, and Strain related to ergonomic changes. In Phase 1, a sample of employees and ergonomists working at a manufacturing plant was used to develop and test an initial set of items. In Phase 2, data was collected from a nation-wide sample of employees representing a wide range of jobs and organizations to cross-validate the results from Phase 1. Phase 2 results indicate that the five EPPEQ subscales demonstrate sound convergent validity and are also correlated with traditional indicators of PE program success. Implications and uses of the EPPEQ are discussed.