A brief Meaningful Work and Enjoyment Scale (MeWES) for extreme operational environments

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Occupational Health
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Extreme operational environments present unique psychological and physiological stressors.
• Sustained stress in these settings can negatively impact individual wellbeing and performance.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of work perception in isolated, confined, and high-demand contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Meaningful Work and Enjoyment Scale (MeWES).
• To assess the perception of meaningful and enjoyable work in extreme operational settings.
• To provide a brief, practical measure for research and interventions.

Main Methods:

• The MeWES was developed based on the job demands-resources model, resilience, and engagement theories.
• Validation involved three distinct populations: Antarctic expedition personnel, US Navy officers, and NASA analog participants.
• Psychometric properties including internal consistency, structural validity, and convergent/predictive/incremental validity were evaluated.

Main Results:

• The six-item MeWES demonstrated strong internal consistency and a unidimensional structure.
• Convergent validity was confirmed with the Work and Meaning Inventory.
• The scale showed significant predictive validity for morale, career satisfaction, affect, team cohesion, and performance, explaining unique variance beyond existing measures.

Conclusions:

• Meaningful work acts as a crucial psychological resource that fosters resilience in extreme contexts.
• The MeWES is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing work perceptions in high-stress operational environments.
• Findings support the use of the MeWES to enhance individual and team functioning, performance, and wellbeing in demanding settings.