A Spanish version of the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory (3D-WFI): factor structure, internal consistency, and criterion validity

Abstract

Background

In the working population, there are risks of overload due to physical, mental, and emotional demands. No instrument is available in Spanish to measure these three types of work fatigue (WF) separately. This paper adapts the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory (3D-WFI) (2015), which is of American origin and measures and differentiates these three different types of WF. It has adequate psychometric properties at its root, as do the subsequent German (2018), Lebanese (2022), and Chinese (2023) adaptations.

Methods

A total of 1100 workers (average age = 40 years) from economic sectors such as security and transportation of valuables, secondary and university educational institutions, and healthcare centers participated. They responded to the 3D-WFI, the Health-Related Quality of Life Index, and the Individual Strength Checklist for concurrent validity effects, together with items with sociodemographic and lifestyle variables.

Results

A confirmatory factor analysis with the total sample 3D-WFI supports its three-dimensionality; Cronbach’s alpha and Omega values are adequate by dimensions: for physical work fatigue (α = 0.92, Ω = 0.92), for mental work fatigue (α = 0.94. Ω = 0.94), and emotional work fatigue (α = 0.95, Ω = 0.95). The 3D-WFI correlates significantly with the Checklist Individual Strength (0.743), and a pattern of significant relationships is found between WF and antecedent variables (e.g., being exposed to heat and noise, emotional labor, concentration, and workwear), as well as some consequences of WF (for example, mental health, absenteeism, work satisfaction, and sleep quality).

Conclusions

We contribute here to the cross-cultural validity of the 3D-WFI, which can be used reliably and validly in the Chilean and probably Latin American working population. Some WF predictor variables are confirmed, as well as WF impacts on the absenteeism, health, and quality of life among workers.