Grit at work

General versus domain-specific grit in the work context

Researchers have questioned whether grit should be conceptualized and measured as a global (i.e., domain-general) or domain-specific construct. Although evidence is beginning to appear that grit in educational and sport contexts may be measured as domain-specific, it has not yet been explored in the organizational context. The objective of this research was to study the psychometric properties of grit as domain-specific for subsequently analyzing if such domain-specific grit (labor grit) improves the predictive validity of different organizational results. A sample of 326 active workers was used (Myears = 37.52; SD = 9.85). Their grit levels in the general domain and specific domain were evaluated, as well as their main personality traits and other organizational results such as work engagement and work performance. The grit instrument as domain-specific showed excellent reliability (ω = 0.92), and the unidimensionality of the instrument was confirmed. The results point to the fact that giving an organizational connotation to the grit items does not improve the predictability of the results. However, labor grit adds incremental validity over personality traits and work engagement to predict task and contextual performance (Δr2 = 0.13), but not to predict counterproductive behavior.

Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Original Grit Scale (Grit-O) Among Cambodian Adolescents

Background

Cambodian youth face many unique challenges, such as high instances of poverty and intergenerational trauma. Grit, a person-level trait defined as having "perseverance and passion for long-term goals", may be particularly important in helping Cambodian youth to succeed despite the extreme challenges they face. To date, the Original Grit Scale (Grit-O) has not been translated in Khmer or validated for a sample of Cambodian youth.

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of a Khmer translation of the Original Grit Scale (Grit-O) among urban Cambodian youth.

Research Design

A cross-section survey battery -including Grit-O and other relevant covariates -was administered to Cambodian youth.

Study Sample

Data were collected from 580 Cambodian adolescents (Mage = 15.85 years, SDage = 2.05, 63.7% female).

Data Collection and Analysis

Paper and pencil surveys were sent home from school with each participant and returned to the study team the next day. Analyses included calculating Cronbach's alphas, interitem correlations, correlations with relevant covariates and both a confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis.

Results

Cronbach's alphas and interitem correlations indicated that the full scale was not reliable for this sample, and that reliability improved when two items (I become interested in new pursuits every few months -reverse-scored and I finish whatever I begin) were excluded. The subscales Consistency of Interests and Perseverance of Effort were more reliable than the full scale. Correlations with relevant covariates indicated that the full scale was moderately valid. Factor analyses suggested that items 6 and 7 did not load well onto either identified factor.

Conclusions

Investigators measuring grit in a sample of Cambodian youth should consider excluding items 6 and 7 of Grit-O, and assessing the two subscales on their own, rather than treating them as indicators of a single higher-order construct.

Effects of grit, calling, and resilience on the retention intention of general hospital nurses

AIM

This study aimed to determine the influence of personal factors such as grit, calling, and resilience on nurses' retention intention in South Korean general hospitals.

BACKGROUND

The global shortage and high turnover rate of nurses have become significant concerns with no clear solutions for increasing retention.

INTRODUCTION

Determining the factors related to the f general hospital nurses and retention intention is important for solving the problem of inadequate nursing personnel and improving the quality of nursing services.

METHODS

This study was a descriptive survey of 221 nurses working at a general hospital in South Korea from July 2021 to February 2022. Data were collected using self-reported online questionnaires, with measurement tools focusing on grit, calling, resilience, and retention intention. The STROBE checklist was used for reporting this study.

RESULTS

The average retention intention score was 5.35 ± 1.52 out of 8 points. Significant correlations were found between retention intention and grit, calling, and resilience. The factors influencing retention intention were job satisfaction, calling, marital status, and total career length, explaining 31.9% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

To enhance nurses' intention to remain at general hospitals, their job satisfaction and sense of a calling should be improved. Further research should be conducted to identify factors that influence retention intention, particularly among groups with low job retention, with consideration of individual characteristics that might affect retention intention.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Increasing nurses' retention intention would alleviate the nursing shortage, help hospitals retain competent nurses, reduce turnover-related costs, and improve organizational efficiency. Resolving the nursing shortage is critical for improving patient safety and nursing service quality at general hospitals.

Psychometric assessment of the Grit Scale: Evidence from US and Chinese samples

To further understand the validity and generalizability of grit, this research investigated the psychometric properties of the Grit Scale in both individualistic (i.e., the US) and collectivistic (i.e., the Chinese) populations. Moreover, this research broadened the contributions of grit to vocational outcomes and showed that grit might be essential to success in other life domains beyond the academic context. Specifically, this cross-cultural research reported two studies that examined the conceptualization of grit proposed by Duckworth et al. (2007) and the concurrent validity of grit to vocational outcomes. Study 1 explored the factor structure of grit in a US general sample ( N = 2140) and a US college student sample ( N = 1935). Study 2 examined the factor structure of grit in a Chinese employee sample ( N = 675) and explored its concurrent validity to occupational well-being and proactive work behavior. Results showed that the bifactor model of grit scale fit best in both the US and Chinese samples. The high omega reliabilities indicated that the general grit score and its two subscales (i.e., perseverance of effort and consistency of interests) could be considered reliable. However, the multiple-group CFA measurement invariance test showed that only partial metric invariance for the perseverance of effort factor was verified across the three samples. Perseverance of effort explained more variance in vocational outcomes than the consistency of interests did among Chinese employees. The findings verified the multidimensionality of the Grit Scale and indicated that the relationships between the two facets of grit and vocational outcomes should be separately investigated.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Grit Psychological Resources Scale (GPRS)

Background

Psychological resources have been shown to play a prominent role in buffering against stress and are associated with various positive constructs, including grit, defined as having the disposition to pursue long-term goals with both passion and perseverance.

Objective

The objective of this study was to validate a new scale developed to measure the psychological resources of grit.

Methods

A quantitative research study was conducted online with an international sample of 277 adults from a range of professional backgrounds. The psychometric properties of the 20-item Grit Psychological Resources Scale (GPRS) were evaluated by performing tests of reliability and validity.

Results

Reliability tests provided evidence of high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.75). Demographic variables did not significantly predict scores or influence survey completion. Face, content and convergent validity provided additional psychometric support for the GPRS with this sample. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported a second-order model with four sub-scales. The first-order factors loaded highly onto the second-order factor, with correlations ranging from 0.80 to 0.97.

Conclusion

The GPRS showed satisfactory psychometric properties, indicating that the scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the psychological resources of grit. This scale can be used to identify more targeted developmental approaches for personal and professional growth. Further, the tool enables information to be gathered on changes pre- and post-improvement initiatives to assess their effectiveness in training and continuing education.

Antecedents and Consequences of Grit Among Working Adults: A Transpersonal Psychology Perspective

Positive psychology has paved the way for newer and more informed ideas of living a meaningful, integrated and well-rounded quality of living. The current era of the pandemic has also moulded the ways in which individuals perceive their quality of life and how they want to integrate a holistic approach towards their well-being. The workplace settings have seen tremendous changes in terms of how employers, employees and the organisations at large function and operate. The pre-pandemic concept of success has shifted its focus from hard work to developing grit among employees to increase the overall efficiency of the organisations. Grit has revolutionised the conventional standards of success, meaning in life and has impacted personal as well as occupational welfare. This integration of positive psychology and transpersonal psychology has catalysed the purpose for the current study. To help organisations and individuals thrive in their professional endeavours at the workplace and to provide them with relevant psychological tools to enhance their occupational growth, the present study has been conducted empirically to investigate the antecedents and consequences of grit among 209 working professionals in India. The results of this study indicate that the transpersonal capital of metacognition, flow, optimism and empathy have a significant role to play in developing grit among the participants. The findings have implications for enhancing job satisfaction and job performance of participants. The current research also provides a framework to organisations towards designing interventions for improving efficiency at the workplace.

Revisiting the Factor Structure of Grit: A Commentary on Duckworth and Quinn (2009)

This commentary addresses debate over the factor structure of the Grit Scale in both its original and short forms. Commonly (and in our own work), factor solutions are used to establish dimensionality of the construct being measured. For example, a two-factor hierarchical model was proposed for the Short Grit Scale. It has since been pointed out, correctly, that the specified model cannot be distinguished from a model with two correlated subfactors and no higher-order factor. In this commentary, we acknowledge the mathematical equivalence of these specifications and our error in interpretation. However, we also take the opportunity to admit a more profound correction. It is now clear to us that statistical answers cannot definitively settle certain theoretical riddles, and our argument for grit as a compound of related but distinct dispositions should not have relied so heavily on the optimal factor solution for a questionnaire devised to assess it. Rather, a conceptual question demands a conceptual answer, which we briefly attempt here. We conclude by noting the need for improved operationalizations of the tendency to stay committed to goals for years (passion) while working assiduously toward their achievement (perseverance).