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Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale3

Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test

With 12 questions and a completion time of about 3 minutes, the Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test explores how often you take initiative beyond formal duties, improve work processes, support coworkers, and contribute extra effort. Your result outlines your pattern of voluntary workplace contributions for practical self-reflection.

Questions: 123 minutes

Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Helping CoworkersHC

This scale measures how consistently an employee invests effort in supporting coworkers with their work-related challenges.

example score4/7

4/7Moderate helpingexample score

1 – 3.5Low helping

3.6 – 5.7Moderate helping

5.8 – 7High helping

A score of 4 indicates a moderate tendency to help colleagues, suggesting support is provided in some situations but not consistently across most needs.

Overtime WorkOW

Measures how often an employee tends to work beyond established working hours as a form of extra-role initiative.

example score4/7

4/7Moderate overtimeexample score

1 – 2.4Low overtime

2.5 – 4.9Moderate overtime

5 – 7High overtime

A score of 4 indicates a moderate tendency to work beyond scheduled hours, suggesting occasional overtime when needed rather than a consistent pattern.

Performance ImprovementPI

Measures how often a person takes initiative to optimize work processes and improve team or organizational performance beyond formal duties.

example score4/7

4/7Moderateexample score

1 – 1.9Low

2 – 4.9Moderate

5 – 7High

A score of 4 indicates a moderate level of performance-improvement behavior, suggesting periodic initiative to enhance how work is done without it being consistently frequent.

Extra-Role Work BehaviorERWB

Measures how often an employee goes beyond formal job duties through initiative, extra effort, and support for colleagues.

example score5/7

5/7High extra-roleexample score

1 – 2.9Low extra-role

3 – 4.9Moderate extra-role

5 – 7High extra-role

A score of 5 indicates a high level of extra-role behavior, suggesting frequent initiative and willingness to contribute beyond core responsibilities.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

HR and People Ops

41%OF USERS

They use it to spot and track who consistently goes beyond their duties and to inform selection, development, and recognition decisions.

Team Leads and Managers

34%OF USERS

They take it to understand extra effort patterns in their team, such as staying late, improving results, and helping coworkers.

Engaged Employees

25%OF USERS

They take it to self-check how often they contribute beyond their role and to communicate their initiative during reviews or growth talks.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Helping colleaguesHc

You?

Average5.5

Typical rangeTypical4.5 – 6.4

Possible1 – 7

Overtime workOw

You?

Average5.5

Typical rangeTypical4.4 – 6.6

Possible1 – 7

Performance ImprovementPI

You?

Average4.1

Typical rangeTypical3 – 5.1

Possible1 – 7

Extrarole Behavior ScaleEBS

You?

Average5.5

Typical rangeTypical4.6 – 6.3

Possible1 – 7

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a list of various actions that people may (or may not) perform in the course of their work. Please consider your behavior objectively and indicate how often you engaged in each action during your work today by selecting one response option.

- Not at all
- Rarely
- Quite rarely
- Sometimes
- Quite often
- Often
- Consistently
- Not at all
- Rarely
- Quite rarely
- Sometimes
- Quite often
- Often
- Constantly
- Not at all
- Rarely
- Quite rarely
- Sometimes
- Quite often
- Often
- Constantly

These are 3 of the 12 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test - Description and methodology of the test

arrange

work behavior

Employees who want to understand their discretionary contribution at work can use the Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test to reflect on how their work habits affect a team. An extra-role work behavior profile can support personal reflection, career conversations, or decisions about future work habits. The result describes a pattern of voluntary contribution rather than judging overall job performance.

What This Assessment Explores

Workplace contributions may involve improving procedures, covering for colleagues, sharing expertise, or extending effort. The assessment suits employees reflecting on conduct across roles; scores describe reported patterns, not an ideal worker. The result offers an employee extra-role behavior profile.

Four dimensions make up the profile:

Performance Improvement (1-7) measures process, condition, unit, and organizational improvement: Low 1-1.9, Moderate 2-4.9, High 5-7.
Helping Coworkers (1-7) measures involvement in solving colleagues’ problems: Low helping 1-3.5, Moderate helping 3.6-5.7, High helping 5.8-7.
Overtime Work (1-7) measures duties beyond scheduled hours and added initiative: Low overtime 1-2.4, Moderate overtime 2.5-4.9, High overtime 5-7.
Extra-Role Work Behavior (1-7) measures voluntary initiative beyond formal duties: Low extra-role 1-2.9, Moderate extra-role 3-4.9, High extra-role 5-7.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item presents a workplace action and asks how often it occurs on seven ordered choices, ranging from absence or rarity to frequent or constant behavior. The examples cover process suggestions, assistance, covering workloads, work outside scheduled hours, and initiative under pressure.

Results appear for each of the four scales, with the corresponding ranges and level bands shown on screen. The displayed results describe a workplace behavior profile; interpretation should consider the respondent’s role, workload, and opportunities to act.

The methodology is conceptually consistent with the Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale (Rebzuev, 2009), which defines this conduct as voluntary behavior beyond formal requirements. Klimov (2014) applies a related perspective to teachers, and Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, and Bachrach (2000) connect voluntary assistance and initiative with organizational citizenship behavior. These sources support the construct, but do not establish that this online questionnaire is a standardized reproduction of a published instrument or that its displayed scoring has population norms.

Self-report also makes results sensitive to current circumstances, memory, self-awareness, and response style. They can support reflection and discussion, but do not establish a diagnosis or a definitive judgment of job performance.

Author: J. P. Campbell

Literature:

Rebzuev, Boris G. (2009). Elaboration of the Construct of Work Behavior and Development of Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale. The Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics, 6(1), 3-57.
Klimov, Alexey Aleksandrovich. (2014). Extra-Role Performance Behavior of Teachers: The Role of Identification with the Team, of Experience and of the School as an Educational Organization. Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast, 6(36), 253-269. 10.15838/esc/2014.6.36.19
Podsakoff, Philip M., MacKenzie, Scott B., Paine, Julie Beth, and Bachrach, Daniel G. (2000). Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature and Suggestions for Future Research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513-563. 10.1177/014920630002600307

Updated: 2025-10-02