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Editorial verdict
Methodologically sound validation study with appropriate psychometric rigour, but single-institution sampling and cross-sectional design significantly constrain generalisability — treat the six-factor structure as a promising starting point, not a settled framework.
Executive summary
This study addresses the absence of comprehensive, context-sensitive wellness assessment tools in digitally mediated academic environments, particularly within African open distance learning (ODL) institutions. The authors argue that existing instruments such as the Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Digital Flourishing Scale assess narrow, isolated dimensions of well-being and are ill-suited to the complex demands of ODL work contexts. To address this gap, the authors developed and psychometrically validated the Career and Employee Wellness Assessment (CEWA), a 40-item instrument measuring six latent dimensions: career satisfaction, holistic wellness, career meaningfulness, digital and career wellness, career embeddedness, and employee relational wellness. The instrument was administered to 840 academic and administrative staff at Africa's largest ODL institution. Psychometric evaluation employed exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and Rasch analysis. Results demonstrated acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.074, SRMR = 0.081), Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.79 to 0.91, and satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. The authors conclude that CEWA provides organisations with a structured, theoretically grounded tool for identifying wellness risks and informing targeted employee support initiatives in digitally intensive academic settings.
Key insights
- 1The six-factor CEWA model and the second-order model both fitted substantially better than a single-factor model, supporting a multidimensional conceptualisation of employee wellness in ODL contexts.
- 2The strongest inter-dimensional correlations were observed between career embeddedness and employee relational wellness (r = 0.557) and between career satisfaction and employee relational wellness (r = 0.518), indicating that relational support plays a central role in shaping career experiences.
- 3Two subscales — career embeddedness (AVE = 0.461) and employee relational wellness (AVE = 0.440) — produced average variance extracted values below the conventional 0.50 threshold, signalling potential item-level construct clarity issues requiring future refinement.
Practical takeaways
- The CEWA provides a structured, multi-dimensional instrument that organisations in digitally mediated academic environments can use to gather differentiated wellness data across career, relational, and digital domains simultaneously rather than relying on separate, narrower instruments.
- The finding that relational wellness and career embeddedness correlate strongly with career satisfaction points to relational support structures and organisational fit as diagnostically relevant areas when interpreting employee wellness profiles in ODL or hybrid academic settings.
Frameworks mentioned
Indivisible Self Model
A holistic wellness model by Myers and Sweeney conceptualising wellness as a composite system encompassing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of functioning.
Self-Determination Theory
A motivational theory referenced in relation to employee relational wellness, positing that supportive organisational environments foster intrinsic motivation and well-being.
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model
A framework cited as supporting multidimensional approaches to workplace well-being, particularly in hybrid and digitally enabled environments.
PERMA
A positive psychology framework encompassing positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment, cited as an allied multidimensional approach to workplace well-being.
Fornell-Larcker Criterion
A statistical criterion for assessing discriminant validity, requiring that a construct accounts for more variance in its own indicators than it shares with other constructs.
References
- Cohen et al. (1983).Perceived Stress Scale.
- Maslach & Jackson (1981).Maslach Burnout Inventory.
- Janicke-Bowles et al. (2023).Digital Flourishing Scale.
- Mitchell et al. (2001).Career embeddedness theory.
- Myers & Sweeney (2005).Wellness model.
- Robbins & Judge (2019).Organisational Behaviour.
- Ryan & Deci (2001).On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.
- Fornell & Larcker (1981).Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error.
- Podsakoff et al. (2003).Common method biases in behavioral research.
- Henseler et al. (2015).New criteria for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling.
Source & Provenance
sajip
Nisha Harry
July 30, 2026
Research Study
Africa
Original source metadata is preserved. AI analysis is generated separately.
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