Occupational stress (KOSS®19): scale development and validation in the Korean context.

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Psychometrics
• Workplace psychology

Background:

• The original Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) was developed in 2004.
• Industrial structures and societal views on occupational stress have evolved since the KOSS's development.
• A revised scale is needed to accurately reflect contemporary workplace challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a revised Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS®19).
• To create a tool tailored for current workers, addressing changes in industrial structures and stress awareness.
• To ensure the new scale accurately measures occupational stress in today's workforce.

Main Methods:

• The KOSS®19 was developed from the 26-item KOSS-short form (SF) with expert review.
• A survey of 359 service industry workers included the KOSS®19, Burnout, and Depression scales.
• Subscales were restructured, and the reliability and validity of the KOSS®19 were evaluated.

Main Results:

• The KOSS®19 includes eight subscales: hazardous physical environment, high job demand, insufficient job control, low social support, job insecurity, organizational injustice, lack of reward, and work-life imbalance.
• Each subscale consists of 2-4 items, totaling 19 items.
• The KOSS®19 demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity.

Conclusions:

• The KOSS®19 is a validated and suitable instrument for assessing occupational stress.
• It effectively replaces the original KOSS and KOSS-SF.
• The scale provides a comprehensive measure of contemporary workplace stressors.