The construct validity of vigor and its antecedents: A qualitative study

Our first objective in this qualitative study was to validate the conceptualization of vigor as comprising physical strength, emotional energy and cognitive liveliness. Our second objective was to explore vigor's work-related antecedents. We applied theme analysis to the contents of interviews held with 38 randomly selected employees. The results clearly supported the three-component conceptualization of vigor as most employees (77%) related to vigor as a multifaceted variable. The most frequent work-related antecedents of vigor that emerged from the interviews were meaningful interactions with others, coping with challenging situations, and achieving success on a project. By superimposing the Job Characteristics Model on these qualitative findings, we inferred from the items describing vigor's antecedents that job significance, supervisory feedback, and job identity were the most frequently mentioned antecedents of vigor at work. Additionally, we found indications of a spillover effect of vigor from the home to the work domains.