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Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale3

Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test

Understand how often you go beyond your job duties in about 3 minutes. A quick 12 item snapshot of initiative, extra effort, and teamwork to support hiring, coaching, and culture.

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Questions: 123 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

23,713 views

2,307 completions

1,876 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

4/7

Performance Improvement (PI)

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

Low

Moderate

High

1 – 1.9: Low | 2 – 4.9: Moderate | 5 – 7: High

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.

example score

4/7

Helping Coworkers (HC)

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

Low helping

Moderate helping

High helping

1 – 3.5: Low helping | 3.6 – 5.7: Moderate helping | 5.8 – 7: High 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.

example score

4/7

Overtime Work (OW)

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

Low overtime

Moderate overtime

High overtime

1 – 2.4: Low overtime | 2.5 – 4.9: Moderate overtime | 5 – 7: High overtime

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

example score

5/7

Extra-Role Work Behavior (ERWB)

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

Low extra-role

Moderate extra-role

High extra-role

1 – 2.9: Low extra-role | 3 – 4.9: Moderate extra-role | 5 – 7: High extra-role

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

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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.

Performance Improvement (PI)

Average

4.1

Normal range

3 — 5.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Helping colleagues (Hc)

Average

5.5

Normal range

4.5 — 6.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Overtime work (Ow)

Average

5.5

Normal range

4.4 — 6.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Extrarole Behavior Scale (EBS)

Average

5.5

Normal range

4.6 — 6.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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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.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

arrange

work behavior

This self-report measure is designed to assess discretionary work behaviors that extend beyond formal job requirements. The Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale provides a brief snapshot of how often an employee reports engaging in behaviors that support effectiveness beyond assigned duties.

The instrument, attributed to J. P. Campbell, includes 12 items and typically requires about 3 minutes to complete. Items focus on common domains of extra-role contribution, such as efforts to improve work performance, willingness to contribute additional time, and supportive behavior toward coworkers.

In applied settings, the Extra-Role Work Behavior Scale may be used to complement broader assessments of work behavior by characterizing patterns of initiative and cooperative engagement. Results should be interpreted in context (e.g., role expectations, work demands, and organizational norms) and are not intended to serve as a standalone indicator of overall job performance.

Author: J. P. Campbell

Literature: Organ, D. W. Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington Books. 1988.