Occupational and Organizational Climate Index (BOKX)

Abstract

The Occupational and Organizational Climate Index (BOKX) is a concise, validated psychological questionnaire designed to measure core components of the Organizational Climate. The instrument is structured around two central dimensions of subjective psychological experience: Meaning (Sinnhaftigkeit) and Competence (Kompetenz). Comprising four items for each dimension, the BOKX functions as an efficient screening tool to assess the expression of these psychological states. Experiencing both meaning and competence in the workplace is identified as a vital personal resource, serving as a critical prerequisite for fostering individual health, overall well-being, and professional performance.

Keywords

Occupational Climate, Organizational Climate, Meaning, Competence, Sinnhaftigkeit, Psychological Assessment, Screening Instrument, Salutogenesis, Psychological Empowerment

Authors

Dr. Josef A. Fischer, Markus Schwemmle, Jaakko Johannsen, Dr. Bernd Schmid

Purpose

The primary purpose of the BOKX is to provide a parsimonious, yet robust, diagnostic screening instrument for evaluating the subjective experience of organizational and professional climate. The scale is specifically tailored to quickly capture the psychological states of meaning and competence, which are theoretically linked to employee vitality and productivity.

The BOKX is versatile in its application, suitable for use across diverse professional settings, including industrial companies (cross-sectoral), formal organizations (such as public administration), and among self-employed individuals or freelancers. It is commonly employed in written or online surveys but has also been successfully tested in oral formats, particularly within coaching contexts for specialists and executives.

Construct

The BOKX measures the two intercorrelated dimensions of Organizational Climate: Meaning (Sinnhaftigkeit) and Competence (Kompetenz). The development of the scale is empirically grounded in two key theoretical frameworks: Aaron Antonovsky’s Salutogenesis Model (1979, 1987) and Gretchen Spreitzer’s Theory of Psychological Empowerment (1996).

The dimension of Meaning describes the perceived fit between an individual’s personal values and the goals pursued in their work (Spreitzer, 1996). High levels of meaning are associated with positive outcomes such as job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. The dimension of Competence, derived from Albert Bandura’s socio-cognitive motivation theory (1982), is defined as the subjective certainty that one possesses the necessary talents and capabilities to successfully handle new or challenging demands. Both constructs are viewed as critical psychological states that drive well-being and performance.

The authors intentionally chose the term Climate over Culture, aligning with literature that defines climate based on the observable attitudes and behaviors of employees and management (Denison, 1996; Schneider et al., 2013), as opposed to the broader, deeper concept of organizational culture (Schein, 2010). The BOKX conceptualizes these dimensions using a direct correspondence model, meaning the individual perception is measured regardless of the organizational level, reflecting findings that affectively toned constructs can be measured accurately using this model, even collectively (Wallace et al., 2016).

Validity

The scale demonstrates evidence of both convergent validity and criterion validity. Both subscales of the BOKX explain incremental variance in relevant external criteria, namely the Sustainability of Professional Action and Crisis Management.

Specifically, the Meaning subscale shows a significant correlation with the criterion Sustainability of professional action (r = .50, p < .001). Furthermore, the Meaning subscale explains a significant portion of variance in this criterion (β = .50, p < .001; ΔR² = 21%) beyond the influence of the Competence subscale and socio-demographic control variables. The Competence subscale correlates significantly with Crisis management (r = .16, p < .01) and demonstrates a meaningful effect on this dependent variable (β = .14, p < .05; ΔR² = 3%) when controlling for the influence of Meaning and socio-demographic variables. These results collectively support the construct validity of the BOKX.

Reliability

The Reliability of the BOKX was assessed using indicators of internal consistency for the two subscales. The internal consistency for the Meaning subscale is rated as very high, with a Cronbach’s Alpha (α) of .89. The internal consistency for the Competence subscale is rated as satisfactory, with an α of .70. Overall reliability estimates range from α = .70 to .89 and McDonald’s Omega (a related measure) ranges from .71 to .90 across the dimensions.

Factor Analysis

The scale development began with an initial pool of eleven items derived from the theories of Salutogenesis and Psychological Empowerment. These were reduced to the final eight items to create a parsimonious instrument, ensuring four items per subscale (Meaning and Competence).

An initial exploratory principal axis Factor Analysis (EFA) with Promax oblique rotation (Kappa = 4) was conducted on the eleven items. This analysis extracted two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, collectively explaining 64.2% of the variance. Following item reduction to achieve symmetry (four items per factor), a subsequent EFA on the final eight items confirmed the theoretical two-factor structure, with the factors explaining 64.9% of the variance and showing a factor correlation of r = .57. The absence of significant cross-loadings confirmed a simple structure.

The factor structure was further specified and empirically verified using linear Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The theoretically assumed model featuring two intercorrelated latent factors on the first level demonstrated high model fit (χ² = 48.88, df = 19, p < .001, RMSEA = .074, CFI = .97, AIC = 82.93). Although the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) slightly exceeded the highly recommended cutoff of .05, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) of .97 indicates acceptable to high model quality (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003). This two-factor model demonstrated better fit compared to alternative one-factor or second-order factor models.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological self-report questionnaire/Short Screening Instrument

Format: Written, online survey, or verbal administration (e.g., in coaching settings). Uses a 6-point Likert scale.

Language Available: German (deutsch)

Population Group: Employees and professionals across various industries and organizational types (including self-employed). Applicable for members of industrial companies, organizations (e.g., public administration), and freelancers.

Age Group: Adult working population.

Population Details: The validation sample (N = 289, collected in 2009 in Germany) was predominantly academic (72.7% holding an academic degree). However, positive application experiences exist with samples having lower educational attainment.

Test Methodology: The BOKX consists of 8 positively coded items, divided equally into two subscales (Meaning and Competence). Response options utilize a 6-point scale ranging from 1 (“stimmt völlig” / completely agree) to 6 (“stimmt überhaupt nicht” / completely disagree). For scoring, non-weighted additive indices for the two subscales are recommended to be calculated and evaluated separately.

Keywords

Organizational Behavior, Job Satisfaction, Work Meaning, Self-Efficacy, Organizational Psychology, Personnel Screening, Health Resource, Work Performance

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Dr. Josef A. Fischer, E-Mail: [email protected]
• Markus Schwemmle (system worx Institut), E-Mail: [email protected]
• Jaakko Johannsen (system worx Institut), E- Mail: [email protected]
• Dr. Bernd Schmid (Institut für Systemische Beratung Wiesloch), E-Mail: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Not explicitly detailed in the source content, but contact information for the authors/institutes is provided for inquiries.

Fee: Not explicitly detailed in the source content (the test was initially published via a web link on the Schmid-Stiftung website).

Test Year: The validation sample was collected in 2009.

Reference’s

The following authors and concepts were cited as theoretical and methodological foundations for the BOKX:

• Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122–147.
• Bühner, M. (2010). Einführung in die Test- und Fragebogenkonstruktion. Pearson Studium.
• Chan, D. (1998). Functional relations among constructs in the same conceptual domain at different levels of analysis: A taxonomy of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2), 234–246.
• Chen, G., Bliese, P. D., & Mathieu, J. E. (2005). Conceptual framework and statistical procedures for delineating and testing multilevel theories: From the macro to the micro and back again. Organizational Research Methods, 8(4), 351–380.
• Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471–482.
• Denison, D. R. (1996). What is the difference between organizational culture and organizational climate? A native’s point of view on a decade of paradigm wars. Academy of Management Review, 21(3), 619–654.
• Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 80–92.
• Lienert, G. A., & Raatz, U. (1998). Testaufbau und Testanalyse. Beltz.
• Maynard, M. T., Wilson, M. S., & Mathieu, J. E. (2012). A structural equation modeling approach to the integration of psychological empowerment and job characteristics. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 48(2), 177–208.
• Moosbrugger, H., & Kelava, A. (2012). Testtheorie und Fragebogenkonstruktion. Springer.
• Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74.
• Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. H. (2013). Organizational climate and culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 361–388.
• Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39(2), 483–504.
• Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An interpretive model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 666–681.
• Wallace, J. C., Johnson, P. D., & Wilson, M. J. (2016). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between affective organizational commitment and job performance: The moderating role of the organizational context. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(1), 1-28.

Items of the Occupational and Organizational Climate Index (BOKX)

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

The items are rated on a six-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“stimmt völlig” / completely agree) to 6 (“stimmt überhaupt nicht” / completely disagree).