Work Locus of Control Scale

Abstract

The Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS) is a specialized psychological instrument designed to assess an individual’s perception of control over outcomes and events specifically within the work environment. It differentiates between individuals who believe their professional success and failures are due to internal factors (effort, ability) and those who attribute outcomes to external forces (luck, powerful others, or fate). While initially developed based on Rotter’s general Locus of Control theory, this version, often a modified iteration like that studied by Gupchup and Wolfgang (1997), applies the construct directly to workplace phenomena such as promotions, salary increases, and job satisfaction.

Keywords

Work Locus of Control, WLCS, organizational psychology, job satisfaction, Locus of Control, internal control, external control, career management.

Authors

Gupchup, G. V., Wolfgang, A. P. (Authors associated with the modification referenced in the source material).

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the WLCS is to measure the extent to which employees believe they have personal control over the reinforcement contingencies in their professional lives. This measurement is crucial for understanding motivational patterns, reactions to organizational change, and susceptibility to workplace stress and burnout.

Specifically, the scale aims to predict work-related behaviors and attitudes, such as job performance, organizational commitment, and proactive career planning efficacy. By distinguishing between internalizers (those who believe their actions dictate results) and externalizers (those who believe outside forces dictate results), researchers and practitioners can tailor human resource interventions and management strategies effectively.

Construct

The scale measures the Locus of Control as a psychological construct applied specifically to the occupational setting. This construct is typically conceptualized as a bipolar dimension reflecting control expectancy:

• Internal Work Locus of Control: Reflects the belief that professional success, rewards, and opportunities are contingent upon one’s own effort, skill, and competence. These individuals feel personally responsible for their career trajectory.
• External Work Locus of Control: Reflects the belief that work outcomes are determined by factors outside of personal control, such as luck, fate, chance, or powerful organizational figures.

The WLCS provides a valuable tool for organizational behavior research by focusing the general personality trait of control expectancy onto the specific domain of work, allowing for a more nuanced prediction of job-specific outcomes.

Validity

Preliminary investigations of the modified WLCS, such as those conducted in samples of pharmacists, indicate acceptable levels of validity. Construct validity has been supported through expected correlations with related measures; for example, scores on the internal dimension of the WLCS typically correlate positively with measures of job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and organizational commitment.

Furthermore, criterion validity is often established by demonstrating that WLCS scores successfully predict relevant work outcomes. Employees scoring high on internality often exhibit higher objective performance ratings, engage in more proactive career behaviors, and report lower levels of work-related stress, confirming the scale’s utility in predicting dispositional tendencies within the professional sphere.

Reliability

The Reliability of the WLCS, particularly the 20-item version presented here, is generally reported as strong. Studies examining internal consistency, typically using Cronbach’s alpha, often find coefficient values ranging from .80 to .90 across diverse occupational groups, demonstrating strong coherence among the items designed to measure the underlying control dimensions.

In addition to internal consistency, test-retest reliability has shown stability of scores over short time intervals, suggesting that the scale measures a relatively stable personality characteristic inherent to the individual’s approach to their career, rather than a transient emotional state.

Factor Analysis

While the WLCS can be scored unidimensionally to reflect a continuum from overall internal to overall external control, detailed Factor analysis often confirms a robust, multidimensional structure. Researchers commonly identify two primary factors corresponding to the theoretical dimensions: Internality and Externality.

In certain applications, the Externality factor may further decompose into sub-factors, such as ‘Powerful Others’ (attributing outcomes to supervisors or management) and ‘Chance/Luck’ (attributing outcomes to random fate or fortune). Analyzing these distinct factors provides researchers with a more granular understanding of the specific external attributions influencing an employee’s perception of their work environment.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, specialized personality inventory.

Format: 20 items using a 5-point Likert scale response format.

Language Available: Primarily English; translations are available in numerous languages for use in cross-cultural and international organizational research.

Population Group: Employed adults and professionals across various sectors.

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older (Working adults).

Population Details: Used extensively in organizational settings, including studies on management, education, healthcare (e.g., the sample of pharmacists referenced), and general employee populations.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to rate the extent to which they agree or disagree with each statement regarding control over their job outcomes (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Scoring involves reversing external items (e.g., items 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20) and then summing or averaging responses to yield a total score, where higher scores signify a stronger Internal Work Locus of Control.

Keywords

Organizational behavior, career outcomes, job performance, employee motivation, psychological assessment, control expectancy.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS), including modified versions, is generally considered a non-proprietary instrument widely available for non-commercial academic and research use without associated fees. Researchers are advised to consult the specific publication from which they draw the items to ensure compliance with any intellectual property rights. The Test Year for the modification investigated in the primary reference is 1997.

The original PDF dissertation containing this instrument can be downloaded here: http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1539&context=all_dissertations

Reference’s

• Gupchup‚ G. V.‚ & Wolfgang‚ A. P. (1997). A modified work locus of control scale: Preliminary investigation of reliability and validity in a sample of pharmacists. Psychological Reports‚ 81‚ 640–642.
• Lipka‚ Phillip‚ “Sexual Minorities in the Workplace: An Examination of Individual Differences That Affect Responses to Workplace Heterosexism” (2010). All Dissertations. Paper 539.
• Spector, P. E. (1988). Development of the Work Locus of Control Scale. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61(4), 335-340.

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Items of the Work Locus of Control Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. My job is what I make of it.
2. On my job‚ I can pretty much accomplish whatever I set out to accomplish.
3. If I know what I want out of a job‚ I can find a job that gives it to me.
4. If I were unhappy about a decision made by my boss‚ I would do something about it.
5. Getting the job I want is a matter of luck.
6. Getting a salary raise is primarily a matter of good fortune.
7. I am capable of doing my job well if I make the effort.
8. In order to get a really good job I would need to have family members or friends in high places.
9. I believe that promotions are usually a matter of good fortune.
10. When it comes to landing a really good job‚ who I know is more important than what I do.
11. I would be given a promotion based on how I perform on the job.
12. In order to get a salary raise I would have to know the right people.
13. For me to be an outstanding employee on most jobs‚ it would take a lot of luck.
14. Getting rewarded on my job would depend on how well I perform.
15. When required I can have a good deal of influence on my supervisor.
16. When I make plans on my job‚ I am almost certain to make them work.
17. Although I might have the necessary abilities‚ I will not be given leadership responsibilities without appealing to those in positions of power.
18. It’s not always wise for me to plan ahead on the job because things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune.
19. When I get what I want on a job‚ it’s usually because I worked hard for it.
20. Whether or not I advance on the job depends on whether I’m lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Response Scale: 1=strongly disagree‚ 2=disagree‚ 3=neither disagree nor agree‚ 4=agree‚ 5= strongly agree