Validation of the French utrecht work engagement scale and its relationship with personality traits and impulsivity

tIntroduction. - Work engagement is a positive state of mind related to work, characterized by vigor, ded-ication, and absorption. It is measured through the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), which hasshown good psychometric properties across occupational types and languages. Besides, some individualsmay more easily experience work engagement than others, suggesting that individual stable tendenciescould predict this state of mind.Objectives. - In this article, we aim to: (1) present the psychometric properties of the French versions ofthe Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9 and UWES-17), and (2) assess whether work engagementcan be associated with personality traits and impulsivity.Method. - For this purpose, 661 French-speaking workers (Mage= 40.86, SDage= 12.35) were recruited inthe French-speaking part of Switzerland. Two hundred and eleven subjects responded to the UWES-17,the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) and the UPPS Impulsive BehaviourScale (UPPS), and 450 subjects responded to the UWES-9 and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory Revised(NEO-FFI-R).Results. - Results showed that UWES-9 reached better psychometric properties than UWES-17. Moreover,it appeared that individuals who were active, conscientious, emotionally stable, and extroverted weremore prone to experience work engagement than others.Discussion. - Thus, the path to experiencing work engagement seems to differ as a function of personalstable characteristics. Further studies should analyse how personal characteristics interact with workingconditions in determining work engagement.