Work Withdrawal Measure

Abstract

The Work Withdrawal Measure is a 12-item self-report instrument designed to assess specific behavioral manifestations of employee disengagement and organizational withdrawal. Developed primarily from the theoretical framework established by Hanisch and Hulin (1990, 1991), this scale operationalizes withdrawal as a continuum of actions ranging from minor job avoidance tactics (e.g., tardiness, extended breaks) to more serious expressions of intent to quit (e.g., job searching). It is a foundational tool in Industrial and Organizational Psychology used to investigate the relationship between negative job attitudes and subsequent counterproductive behaviors that reduce organizational efficiency and increase turnover risk.

Keywords

Work Withdrawal, Organizational Withdrawal, Job Avoidance, Counterproductive Work Behavior, Employee Disengagement, Job Satisfaction, Employee Turnover, Hulin, Hanisch.

Authors

K. A. Hanisch, C. L. Hulin

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Work Withdrawal Measure is to quantify the frequency with which employees engage in behaviors intended to remove themselves, either physically or psychologically, from the immediate demands of their work environment. This instrument provides researchers and practitioners with an empirical measure to study the theoretical model that links negative employee experiences and attitudes (such as high job stress or dissatisfaction) to a range of voluntary withdrawal behaviors.

This scale is crucial for capturing the subtle, often daily, manifestations of disengagement that precede formal physical turnover. By assessing these low-intensity behaviors, the measure allows organizations to identify employees at risk of eventual quitting and to diagnose the extent of disengagement based on measurable behavioral patterns rather than solely relying on affective self-reports.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Work Withdrawal, which is characterized as a specific, behavioral subset of the broader concept of organizational withdrawal. Hanisch and Hulin’s theoretical model posits that organizational withdrawal is a progressive syndrome, and work withdrawal represents the initial, low-intensity stage of avoiding work tasks or responsibilities while remaining employed.

The 12 items cover two key dimensions within this construct: direct behavioral avoidance (e.g., misuse of time, lateness, poor quality work) and cognitive/intentional withdrawal (e.g., thinking about quitting, actively searching for a new job). The inclusion of turnover intentions links the immediate avoidance behaviors to the ultimate act of organizational departure, providing a comprehensive assessment of the withdrawal process.

Validity

The validity of the Work Withdrawal Measure is well-supported throughout academic literature in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Construct validity is typically established through its consistent patterns of correlation: it shows a strong negative association with measures of organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and a positive association with measures of general counterproductive work behavior (CWB).

Criterion validity is demonstrated by the scale’s ability to predict future outcomes. Specifically, scores on the Work Withdrawal Measure have been shown to be significant predictors of employee turnover intentions and actual voluntary turnover observed in longitudinal studies. The scale’s adherence to the established theoretical model of the organizational withdrawal syndrome further strengthens its theoretical validity.

Reliability

The Work Withdrawal Measure demonstrates consistently strong internal consistency, confirming its reliability across diverse working populations. Studies utilizing the scale routinely report Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from the mid-0.80s to the low-0.90s, indicating that the 12 items effectively cohere to measure a unified latent construct of withdrawal behavior.

Although specific psychometric properties regarding test-retest reliability are sometimes reported in specific contexts, the stability of the underlying constructs measured by Hanisch and Hulin ensures that the instrument provides dependable and consistent scores, provided the work environment and the resulting employee attitudes remain relatively stable over the measurement period.

Factor Analysis

While the broader theoretical model of organizational withdrawal encompasses multiple factors, Factor Analysis specifically applied to the 12 items of the Work Withdrawal Measure often reveals a highly robust unidimensional factor structure. This suggests that the items, despite covering different types of behaviors (time misuse, poor work quality, job search), load onto a single dominant factor representing overall employee disengagement and avoidance.

Some researchers have explored multi-factor solutions, attempting to separate passive withdrawal behaviors from active turnover intentions; however, treating the scale as a single, unitary indicator of behavioral avoidance correlated with negative job attitudes remains the most common and robust approach in published research.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report frequency questionnaire

Format: 7-point Likert Scale, designed to measure the frequency of engagement in specific withdrawal behaviors.

Language Available: Primarily English, though it has been translated and adapted for use in various international studies and dissertations.

Population Group: Employed adults and working samples.

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

Population Details: The scale was originally validated using samples of military personnel and employees across diverse civilian industries, ensuring broad applicability in organizational research settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to indicate how often they have engaged in each of the 12 listed behaviors over a specified time frame (e.g., the last year, the last six months).

Keywords

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Employee Disengagement, Turnover Intention, Behavioral Avoidance, Self-Report, Factor Analysis, Likert Scale, Psychometric Properties.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not publicly specified)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not publicly specified)

Correspondence Address: Correspondence generally directed toward the authors’ affiliated universities at the time of publication (e.g., Hanisch at Texas A&M University; Hulin at the University of Illinois).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: Derived from foundational research published in 1990 and 1991.

Permissions & Fee: The scale is widely considered an academic instrument and is typically available for non-commercial research use without charge, provided that the original authors (Hanisch & Hulin, 1990, 1991) are properly cited in all resulting publications.

The original PDF containing the scale items in the context of a dissertation can be downloaded here: http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1539&context=all_dissertations

Reference’s

• Hanisch, K. A., & Hulin, C. L. (1990). Job attitudes and organizational withdrawal: An Examination of retirement and other voluntary withdrawal behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37, 60–78.
• Hanisch, K. A., & Hulin, C. L. (1991). General attitudes and organizational withdrawal: An evaluation of a causal model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 39, 110–128.
• Lipka, Phillip, “Sexual Minorities in the Workplace: An Examination of Individual Differences That Affect Responses to Workplace Heterosexism” (2010). All Dissertations. Paper 539.

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Items of the Work Withdrawal Measure

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

1. Messing with equipment so that you cannot get work done.
2. Letting others do your work for you.
3. Taking frequent or long coffee or lunch breaks.
4. Making excuses to go somewhere to get out of work.
5. Being late for work.
6. Doing poor work.
7. Using equipment (such as the phone) for personal use without permission.
8. Looking at your watch or clock a lot.
9. Ignoring those tasks that will not help your performance review or pay raise.
10. Thinking about quitting your job because of work-related issues.
11. Looked for a different job.
12. Asked people you know about jobs in other places or looked at job advertisements.

Response Scale Anchors (Frequency):

• 1=never
• 2=once a year
• 3=2 or 3 times per year
• 3=every other month
• 4=about once year per
• 5=more than once per month
• 6= once per week
• 7=more than once per week