Work engagement was measured using the 9-item version of the
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9; Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006). The UWES-
9 consists of a total of nine questions measuring the three underlying dimensions of work
engagement: absorption, dedication, and vigor. Each dimension was measured by three questions
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on a five-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Sample items include: “I
am immersed in my work” (absorption), “I am proud of the work that I do” (dedication), and “at
work I feel bursting with energy” (vigor). The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was adequate (α =
.88), thus an overall composite score was created by averaging all items (M = 3.75, SD = .63).