These results suggest that extremely low scores of the
Japanese UWES-9 do not necessarily indicate low work
engagement but might reflect decreased measurement
accuracy of the scale in a Japanese sample. A possible
cause of decreased measurement accuracy might be the
tendency to suppress the expression of positive affect
among Japanese people [40]. The results also suggest
that (extremely) high scores of the original UWES-9 do
not necessarily indicate high work engagement. The
typical response tendency known as self-enhancement,
the general sensitivity to positive self-relevant information
[48,49], might be a possible cause of decreased
measurement accuracy. According to Kitayama et al.
[49], this tendency has positive social and psychological
consequences within a culture that is organized to foster
and promote the independence and the uniqueness of
the self. Because self-enhancement maintains and
enhances an overall evaluation of the self such as self
esteem, it could be a means of successful coping in western
countries.