Job Content Questionnaire Scales Research Articles

Short-term test–retest reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire and Effort–Reward Imbalance Questionnaire items and scales among professional firefighters

Relatively little is known about the short-term test–retest reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and Effort–Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (ERIQ). Seventeen JCQ and six ERIQ items were qualitatively reviewed by 19 firefighters in focus groups. The items were then administered twice to 81 firefighters with a time interval of 1–8 weeks. The short-term reliability of the JCQ and ERIQ items and scales with the four-point Likert item responses was at least fair or moderate with several complementary statistical methods. It improved substantially when the four-point responses were simplified into the two (‘agree’ or ‘disagree’) responses. The JCQ psychological demands and the ERIQ effort scales were among the least reliable scales and their items were most frequently indicated by the firefighters to be clarified. The responses of professional firefighters to the JCQ and ERIQ items and scales were stable during an 8-week period, particularly when dichotomous item responses were used.

The HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool: concurrent and construct validity

The Health & Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool (HSE-MS IT) is a questionnaire commonly used to assess work-related stress risks at an organizational level. A critical factor in determining whether this instrument is actually useful is that higher levels of stress risk in the work-design domains should predict higher levels of stress and stress-related outcomes in workers. Only a few studies, however, have addressed this issue. To test both the concurrent and construct validity of the HSE-MS IT, by relating it with another widely used instrument, the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), and by examining its relationships with a set of work-related stress outcomes. An anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to a sample of employees in an Italian municipality. The questionnaire included the HSE-MS IT, self-reported measures of job satisfaction, job motivation and stress at work, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the reduced form of the JCQ. A total of 760 out of 779 employees completed the questionnaire. Results showed moderate to strong correlation among the corresponding HSE-MS IT and JCQ scales. Hierarchical regression highlighted the specific contribution of each of the HSE-MS IT scales in predicting three relevant work-related stress outcomes (self-reported stress, job satisfaction and job motivation), after controlling for gender, age and life satisfaction. Our findings consolidated the HSE-MS IT validity and showed the specific sensitivity of its scales to assess different aspects of work-related distress, including self-perception of stress at work. These results can have practical implications for the occupational well-being of employees.

Psychometric Properties of the Polish Version of Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire

Aim. The objective of this study was to test the psychometric properties of selected scales, namely, Decision Latitude, Psychological Job Demand, Social Support and Job Insecurity, from the Polish version of Karasek’s 29-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Method. The study covered 2626 workers from a wide range of occupations. Estimation of internal consistency with Cronbach’s a, and both exploratory factor analysis (with principal axis method) and confirmatory factor analysis were the main statistical methods. Predictive validity was assessed by regressing the outcomes of JCQ scales on the outcomes of Goldberg and Williams’s General Health Questionnaire. Results. The internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory, ranging from .60 to .85. The 4-dimensional structure of the measured version was generally confirmed; the 4 dimensions being Decision Latitude; Psychological Job Demands and Job Insecurity merged into 1 factor; Co-workers ‘ Social Support; and Supervisors’ Social Support. Fit indexes for this model were satisfactory, it was also proved that this model predicted mental health. Conclusions. The Polish version of Karasek’s 29-item JCQ has satisfactory psychometric properties; it is a short, easy method for assessing psychosocial work conditions.

Assessment of psychosocial stressors at work: psychometric properties of the JCQ in Colombian workers

Debido a que los dos principales modelos e instrumentos usados para evaluar factores psicosociales en el trabajo se han propuesto y estudiado principalmente en paises desarrollados, persisten dudas sobre sus propiedades psicometricas en paises menos desarrollados economicamente. En este estudio, se evaluo en Colombia una version en espanol de cuestionario del contenido del trabajo. Se realizaron estudios transversales con 294 enfermeras, 281 conductores y 661 personas con ocupaciones mixtas. Las medias y desviaciones estandar de los trabajadores colombianos se compararon con las reportadas en estudios de otros paises. La consistencia interna se analizo mediante el alfa de Cronbach; la validez factorial con analisis factorial exploratorio; la validez concurrente se calculo usando correlaciones con el indicador de desbalance Esfuerzo/ Recompensa del cuestionario ERI; la validez predictiva se evaluo a traves de correlaciones con un indicador de salud. En general las diferencias entre las muestras fueron pequenas, pero a pesar de ello mostraron tendencias interesantes. Los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach fueron aceptables. Los analisis factoriales indicaron una solucion de 7 factores, siendo el relacionado con latitud de decision el mas problematico. Algunos pocos items mostraron cargas factoriales inconsistentes y dificultades de confiabilidad. La mayor parte de las correlaciones con el indicador de salud fueron las esperadas. Finalmente, el indicador de tension laboral y el de desbalance esfuerzo/recompensa estuvieron positivamente relacionados, lo que indica una buena validez concurrente. Se concluye que esta version en espanol de JCQ es un instrumento adecuado para evaluar los riesgos psicosociales laborales en Colombia.

JCQ scale reliability and responsiveness to changes in manufacturing process

The job content questionnaire (JCQ) was administered to automobile manufacturing workers in two interviews, 5 years apart. Between the two interviews, the company introduced substantial changes in production technology in some production areas. The aims were: (1) to describe the impact of these changes on self-reported psychosocial exposures, and (2) to examine test-retest reliability of the JCQ scales, taking into account changes in job assignment and, for a subset of workers, physical ergonomic exposures as assessed through field observations. The study population included 790 subjects at the first and 519 at the second interview, of whom 387 were present in both. Differences in demand and control scores between interviews were analyzed by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. Test-retest reliability of these scales was evaluated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Spearman's rho coefficient. The introduction of more automated technology produced an overall increase in job control but did not decrease psychological demand. The reliability of the control scale was low overall but increased to an acceptable level among workers who had not changed job. The demand scale had high reliability only among workers whose physical ergonomic exposures were similar on both survey occasions. These results show that 5-year test-retest reliability of self-reported psychosocial exposures is adequate among workers whose job assignment and ergonomic exposures have remained stable over time.

The Association of the Reporting of Somatic Symptoms with Job Stress and Active Coping among Japanese White‐collar Workers

To assess the associations between job stress and somatic symptoms and to investigate the effect of individual coping on these associations. In July 2006, a cross-sectional study was conducted during a periodic health check-up of 185 Japanese male office workers (21-66 yr old) at a Japanese company. Job stress was measured by job demand, control, and strain (=job demand/control) based on the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Major somatic symptoms studied were headache, dizziness, shoulder stiffness, back pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, general fatigue, sleep disturbance, and skin itching. Five kinds of coping were measured using the Job Stress Scale: active coping, escape, support seeking, reconciliation, and emotional suppression. Comorbidities of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, and anxiety were also evaluated. The most frequently cited somatic symptom was general fatigue (66%), followed by shoulder stiffness (63%) and sleep disturbance (53%). Of the five kinds of coping, only "active coping" was significantly and negatively associated with the number of somatic symptoms. The generalized linear models showed that the number of somatic symptoms increased as job strain index (p=0.001) and job demand (p=0.001) became higher, and decreased as active coping (p=0.018) increased, after adjusting for age and comorbidities. There was no statistical interaction among active coping, the number of somatic symptoms, and the three JCQ scales. Reporting somatic symptoms may be a simple indicator of job stress, and active coping could be used to alleviate somatization induced by job stress.

Propriétés psychométriques de la version française des échelles de la demande psychologique, de la latitude décisionnelle et du soutien social du « Job Content Questionnaire » de Karasek : résultats de l'enquête nationale SUMER

Psychosocial factors at work have been found to be associated with having potential risk for adverse health effects. The main instrument used to measure these factors and their impact is the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) by Karasek. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the French version of the JCQ, and in particular to assess its internal coherence and consistency, as well as the factorial and convergent validity of psychological demands, decisional latitude and social support at work based upon the SUMER survey, which was the first French national survey of its kind to include the JCQ. The study was based on a sample of 24, 486 workers who answered the JCQ in 2003 (96.5% response rate). Internal consistency was satisfactory, as Cronbach's alpha coefficients were observed as being higher than 0.65. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the best model was composed of 5 latent variables: demands and pressures, the two dimensions of latitude (utilization of skills and autonomous decision-making), and the two dimensions of support (from supervisors and from colleagues). Convergent validity tests confirmed the expected association with key variables, which were: age, work status, sector of activity, occupation, job satisfaction, perception of job stress, and intent to change job. This study demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties of Karasek's JCQ scales for the French working population.

Long‐Term Changes in the Perception of Job Characteristics: Results from the Belstress II—Study

The aim was to explore long-term changes in the perception of job characteristics--based on the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)--in view of the changing labor market in Western societies. A total number of 2,821 workers from nine companies were involved in the longitudinal Belstress-project. Data were gathered on two occasions with a mean time interval of 6.6 yr. At both times, participants completed the JCQ which measures the perception of job demands, job control and social support. In addition, the instrument contains questions regarding physical job demands, job insecurity and impact of world market competition (WMC). Changes over time in the perception of the different dimensions of the JCQ were evaluated within a sample of 2,490 respondents who remained in the same job. A statistically significant long-term stability of all JCQ scales was found. As far as intra-individual changes over time are concerned, the population showed a modest average increase in the perception of job demands, control and support of approximately 3%. Long-term changes in the other scales were larger, with an average increase of 10.3% in job insecurity and 15.5% in impact of WMC. Substantial variation in these two scales was found at the level of the company and in some socio-demographic factors. While perceived job characteristics remained relatively stable over an average period of 6.6 yr, a substantial increase was noted in job insecurity and the impact of WMC. These dimensions are becoming increasingly important within the context of economic globalization and labor market flexibility.

Burnout and Related Factors among Hospital Nurses

Burnout and Related Factors among Hospital Nurses: Kazuyo Higashiguchi, et al. Department of Nursing, Kanazawa Medical University—The overall goal of this study is to examine the relationship between burnout in hospital nurses and three parameters: occupational factors, individual attributes, and workplace stressors. Two hundred and sixty‐eight female nurses from two public general hospitals were surveyed. Three forms were used: first, a demographic data form to ascertain personal attributes; second, the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to assess burnout; and third, the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) to assess workplace stressors. The Japanese version of MBI consists of three subscales: Physical Exhaustion (PE), Emotional Exhaustion/ Depersonalization (EE + DP), and Personal Accomplishment (PA). The results were as follows: 1. There was a significant correlation between both PE and EE+DP and years of nursing experience, as well as the age of children. 2. There was a significant correlation between PE and the work schedule or workplace. 3. There was no significant correlation between the Japanese MBI subscales and job rank, marital status, or the number of children. 4. There was a significant correlation between the three subscales of Japanese MBI and the Japanese JCQ scales. These findings are discussed.

The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): An instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics.

Part I discusses the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), designed to measure scales assessing psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, physical demands, and job insecurity. Part II describes the reliability of the JCQ scales in a cross-national context using 10,288 men and 6,313 women from 6 studies conducted in 4 countries. Substantial similarity in means, standard deviations, and correlations among the scales, and in correlations between scales and demographic variables, is found for both men and women in all studies. Reliability is good for most scales. Results suggest that psychological job characteristics are more similar across national boundaries than across occupations.