We all have faced some situations in which we are interacting with someone, and we notice that this person is ‘not fully here’. This creates a disconnect between parties and the outcome of such interaction is far from optimal. Now, with more hybrid work, we notice the lack of presence more frequently. Given the new work organizational trends and the value of ‘being present at work’ for better individual, team, and organizational outcomes, we investigate what it means to be present at work. As of today, there is no generic presence at work scale applicable to all industries. We develop and validate two presence at work scales. The Intra Presence at Work Scale (IAPWS) for activities and tasks performed solo, and the Inter Presence at Work Scale (IRPWS) for activities and tasks performed with other people. By developing and validating these two scales we provide a conceptual framework for the concept of Presence at Work that can be used in all kinds of work settings and fields. Data from seven working samples (overall n= 2,321) provide support that (a) the proposed dimensions for the IAPWS and IRPWS exhibit good internal consistency and test-retest reliability; (b) they demonstrate convergent validity for motivation, personality traits and work outcomes; (c) content analysis of the qualitative data supports the identified dimensions. Overall, findings suggest that the IAPWS and the IRPWS have good psychometric properties and that differentiation between Intra and Inter relational situations provides novel insights into the role of Presence for work outcomes.
