Development and validation of the belonging at work scale: Association with mistreatment and leaves

Dayna Lee-Baggley, Hayam Bakour, Bill Howatt, Debra Gilin and Ehsan Etezad

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: This research developed the Belonging at Work Scale (BWS), a 7-item, unidimensional measure of work group inclusion focusing specifically on belongingness. Collecting data from 2 Canadian employee samples across 2 studies (N = 1535, N = 3148), we examined the factor structure, psychometric properties, and group means of the BWS across diverse groups of employees (gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity, sexual orientation). The BWS showed strong reliability as well as configural, metric and scalar invariance across all diverse groups, indicating equivalent fit and applicability. An intersectionality analysis (Study 1) found that women in comparison to men, non-heterosexual individuals in comparison to heterosexual individuals, and participants in intersecting demographic minority groups report less belonging at work on average. Additionally, a greater sense of belonging as measured by the BWS was associated with fewer reports of 10 harmful misbehaviours in the workplace as well as lower rates of taking leaves of absence (Study 2). The development of this scale aims to support organizations in practically measuring their levels of inclusion to ultimately address any identified inclusion-related issues. Study limitations, implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0346786

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0346786

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