Psychometric Evaluation of the Gratitude Toward the Organization Scale

Abstract

Purpose: Gratitude is an interdisciplinary concept frequently explored in positive psychology, which recognizes gratitude as one of the seven transcendent character forces that promote well-being and life satisfaction. The purpose of the conducted research was to develop the concept of gratitude toward the organization and prepare a tool to study this phenomenon. Methods: The study was cross-sectional. Participants were 802 employees from various organizations. Results: The Gratitude Toward the Organization Scale has a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α was 0.91). Factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure of this tool. The dimensions of gratitude toward the organization are distinguished as: (1) gratitude as a commitment to reciprocity and (2) gratitude as a moral norm. The construct validity of this measure was confirmed. Gratitude toward the organization correlated positively with job satisfaction, affective commitment to the organization, organizational justice, and perceived organizational and supervisor support, while being negatively correlated with intent to leave the organization. Conclusions: The obtained results confirm very good psychometric properties of the Gratitude Toward the Organization Scale as a valid and reliable measure for studying the gratitude of employees, which can be successfully used by researchers in Poland.