Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (short version)
UWES-9Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.
A 9-item short form of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale measuring work engagement across three dimensions: Vigor, Dedication, and Absorption.
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Reliability & validation
Subscales
Scoring
- Vigor
- Mean of items 1, 2, 5
- Dedication
- Mean of items 3, 4, 7
- Absorption
- Mean of items 6, 8, 9
- Total work engagement
- Mean of items 1–9
- Score range
- 0–6
- Reverse-keyed items
- None
Responses run from 0 (never) to 6 (always, every day).
Response anchors
Never · Almost never (A few times a year or less) · Rarely (Once a month or less) · Sometimes (A few times a month) · Often (Once a week) · Very often (A few times a week) · Always (Every day)
Known limitations
Free for academic use (for example, theses and scientific papers) on the condition that some data are shared with the authors; other uses require a contract with the authors. The three-factor structure is sometimes supplanted by a one-factor solution in applied samples, so inspect the factor structure in your data before interpreting subscales separately.
Original citation
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471Questions researchers ask
What does the UWES-9 measure?
A 9-item short form of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale measuring work engagement across three dimensions: Vigor, Dedication, and Absorption.
How many items does the UWES-9 have?
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (short version) (UWES-9) has 9 items across 3 subscales: Vigor, Dedication, Absorption.
Is the UWES-9 free to use?
The UWES-9 is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.
Is the UWES-9 reliable?
Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.92. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.
Who developed the UWES-9, and how do I cite it?
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
How do you score the UWES-9?
Vigor: Mean of items 1, 2, 5. Dedication: Mean of items 3, 4, 7. Absorption: Mean of items 6, 8, 9. Total work engagement: Mean of items 1–9. Score range 0–6. Reverse-keyed items: None.
Related scales
Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.