Subjective Monotony scale

Description

This measure, (Subjective Monotony) developed by Melamed, Ben-Avi, Luz, and Green (1995), assesses employee perceptions of the extent to which their work is monoto­nous, using an adjective checklist. The four adjectives used in the scale are routine, boring, monotonous, and not varied enough. Objective job monot­ony, which is typically rated by independent observers, is defined as rela­tively short cycle time, monotonous motor demands, or operations that do not require sustained attention (Shirom, Westman, & Melamed, 1999).

Reliability

Coefficient alpha values for subjective monotony ranged from .68 to .76 (Melamed et al., 1995; Shirom et al., 1999).

Validity

Subjective monotony correlated negatively with education level, age, and job satisfaction. It correlated positively with individual, and piece-rate pay incentives, psychological distress, anxiety, and somatic complaints (Melamed et al., 1995; Shirom et al., 1999). In Shirom et al. (1999), subjective monotony correlated positively with objective monotony.

Source

Melamed, S., Ben-Avi, I., Luz, J., & Green, M. S. (1995). Objective and sub­ jective work monotony: Effects on job satisfaction, psychological distress, and absenteeism in blue-collar workers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 29-42. Items were taken from text, p. 32. Copyright© 1995 by the American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission.

Items

Employees respond by indicating the extent to which each adjective describes their job using responses of yes (scored with value 3),? (scored with value 1) or no (scored with value 0). The adjectives are as follows:

1. Routine
2. Boring
3. Monotonous
4. Not varied enough