Work and play: Validation of the Italian version of the Playful Work Design questionnaire

Playful Work Design (PWD) refers to the process by which people create proactive conditions within their work activities, without changing the nature of their work. Based on the theory of the duality of play and proactivity theory, Scharp and colleagues (in press) validated a 12-item instrument, the PWD Questionnaire (PWD-Q), that included the dimensions of Designing fun and Designing competition. In the present study, we aimed to validate the Italian version of the PWD-Q. Exploratory factor analysis, divergent validity between PWD and job crafting dimensions, and reliability analyses were conducted with data from 253 Italian employees. The results supported the two-factor structure of the PWD-Q and showed good reliabilities, in line with the original validation. The confirmatory factor analysis empirically supported the distinction between PWD and job crafting. Overall, the results showed that the PWD-Q is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to measure Designing fun and Designing competition in the Italian context.