Worries about Deprivation of Job Rewards Following Computerization: A Partial Order Scalogram Analysis

The introduction of a major change in an organization, like computerization, may be expected to raise some worries on the part of affected employees. Four sources of worries experienced by the employees of accounting departments are discussed: job security, job stability, job proficiency, and job interest. An empirical structure of these worries, based on scalogram technique, was found, and an interpretation for it is proposed. By the use of Partial Order Scalogram Analysis, a parsimonious description of the contents behind the variables was obtained. Empirical profiles can be characterized by two scores, rather than the original four, by means of two scales: the joint scale represents the "amount" of worry and the lateral scale measures the composition or the "quality" of worry. The findings confirm our hypothesis concerning the content underlying the lateral ("quality-of-worries') scale, namely that it reflects the degree of "intrinsicality" versus "extrinsicality" of the job reward the loss of which is feared.