Development and validation of the sufficiency living wage scale for workers in thailand

Abstract

In the recent years, the living wage agenda has been promoted due to its socio-economic benefits for workers and overall economy. This research initiative examines how Thai workers integrate living wage with Thailand's "Sufficiency Economy Philosophy" (SEP); with the emerging concept termed as "Sufficiency Living Wage" (SLW). Specifically, this paper showcases the development of the SLW instrument through a mixed-method research design. Two research objectives were formulated; first to develop a scale to measure the SLW, and second to examine the factor structure of this scale. The concept of SLW emerged through qualitative research; followed by quantitative development of the SLW scale with 22-items measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Furthermore, data was collected from 428 workers in Thailand. Exploratory factor analysis indicated three factors with high reliability; that were termed as "perceived psychological utility", "moderate consumption" and "living with self-immunity". This research confirms that the SLW scale has good psychometric properties with high overall internal consistency. Implications of the SLW scale are discussed for future research, and applications at workplace and policy levels are also presented, especially for exploring the impact on the quality of life of workers and sustainable development. © 2021 Associacao Brasileira de Pesquisadores de Jornalismo. All rights reserved.