Abstract

Objectives: The importance of considering need for recovery after work and recovery opportunities at the workplace is relevant for occupational groups supporting clients in the workplace. Therefore, it is important that these concepts may be estimated with valid and reliable instruments within also a Swedish context. Thus, the aim of the study was to adapt the Need for Recovery (NFR) scale and the Recovery Opportunities (RO) scale to Swedish conditions and to assess the psychometric properties of the scales.

Material and methods: The translation process followed the guidelines for cultural adaptation of questionnaires. Both the RO scale and the NFR scale were assessed for stability, internal consistency and validity (n=146) in accordance with the validation of the original Dutch scales. An exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation was performed regarding both scales. An Eigenvalue greater than one was used to determine number of factors.

Results: The validity of the control scale RO in terms of the NFR value correlatively linked detachment from work to recovery from work demands. Regarding NFR, RO was more important than the other control scales. Work demands were negatively correlated with RO and an Influence control scale. Sufficient psychometric properties were found for both the NFR and the RO scales with stability measures (ICC) exceeding 0.90 and with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80 for RO and 0.90 for NFR. Principal component analysis showed meaningful results and regarding NFR confirmed earlier Dutch findings.

Conclusion: Both scales proved to be reliable instruments to evaluate recovery opportunities related to work shifts and work-related fatigue after the shifts. The instruments confirmed findings from other countries regarding meaningful correlations with well-established instruments. The two instruments together confirm the importance of detachment from work for health benefit.