A measure to assess the workplace well‐being of psychological practitioners

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The well‐being of psychological practitioners is a key factor in the effective delivery of psychological therapies and the effectiveness of mental health services. Despite this, there are no measures of well‐being for this professional group. The 26‐item psychological practitioner workplace well‐being measure (PPWWM) measures psychological well‐being for psychological practitioners and was informed by a qualitative study. Items were generated and then verified by groups of practitioners using sorting tasks. The items reflect a broad range of issues relevant to the workplace well‐being of psychological practitioners.</jats:p><jats:p>The PPWWM was validated with a sample of 400 psychological practitioners recruited through professional networks. Internal consistency (<jats:italic>α</jats:italic> = .92) and test–retest reliability (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = .94) were high. Construct validity was indicated by positive correlations with the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool and Satisfaction with Life Scale and negative correlation with the General Health Questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis produced six factors, explaining 61.2% of the variance: professional and organizational; support and flexibility; professional role; physical environment; clinical supervision; and external personal. PPWWM scores were not significantly associated with a range of demographic variables (gender, health/disability, profession, and type of organization), but it did correlate significantly and negatively with age.</jats:p><jats:p>The PPWWM has potential application as a brief measure, suitable for large‐scale surveys that specifically measures workplace well‐being in psychological practitioners. Future research could include cross validation with new samples and validation with subgroups of psychological practitioners.</jats:p>