The Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI)


The Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI) is a self-reported measure which was developed to measure: effort, reward, and over- commitment (Siegrist et al. 2004). The short version of the questionnaire consists of 16 four-point Likert-scaled items of which 3 are relative to the Effort Scale, 7 are relative to the Reward Scale and 6 are relative to the Overcommitment scale. Higher ratings in the effort and over- commitment scale point to higher efforts or over- commitment, whereas low ratings in the reward scale point to lower rewards.
J. Siegrist, D. Starke, T. Chandola, I. Godin, M. Marmot, I. Niedhammer, R. Peter, The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons, Soc. Sci. Med. 58 (2004) 1483–1499. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(03)00351-4.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Effort-Reward+Imbalance%5BTitle%5D&sort=
Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale (1 to 4). For most of the items, the response format and numerical values are the following: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) agree, and (4) strongly agree. However, the score is reversed (the numerical scoring scale runs in the opposite direction) for the items 5, 6, 7, 13. The different sub-scores are obtained by adding up the values of different items as follow :
  • Effort Scale : Items 1 to 3, the score can range from 3 to 12.
  • Reward Scale : Items 4 to 10, the score can range from 7 to 28.
  • Overcommitment Scale : Items 11 to 16, the score can range from 6 to 24.
For each of the following questions, we would like you to answer each question with one of the following options: strongly disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree. Please read each question and click in the corresponding box.


 
 
  Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
1 - I have constant time pressure due to a heavy work load
2 - I have many interruptions and disturbances while performing my job.
3 - Over the past few years, my job has become more and more demanding.
4 - I receive the respect I deserve from my superior or a respective relevant person.
5 - My job promotion prospects are poor.
6 - I have experienced or I expect to experience an undesirable change in my work situation.
7 - My job security is poor.
8 - Considering all my efforts and achievements, I receive the respect and prestige I deserve at work.
9 - Considering all my efforts and achievements, my job promotion prospects are adequate.
10 - Considering all my efforts and achievements, my salary / income is adequate.
11 - I get easily overwhelmed by time pressures at work.
12 - As soon as I get up in the morning I start thinking about work problems.
13 - When I get home, I can easily relax and ‘switch off' work.
14 - People close to me say I sacrifice too much for my job.
15 - Work rarely lets me go, it is still on my mind when I go to bed.
16 - If I postpone something that I was supposed to do today I'll have trouble sleeping at night.