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

Abstract

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. This article consists of three parts. Part I introduces the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) as a tool for psychosocial job assessment. First, a description of scales and their underlying theoretical concepts is presented. This is followed by a discussion of empirical issues in the development of the questionnaire and its validity. Part I concludes with a discussion of measurement issues, administrative issues, and future challenges.

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“…2. Psychosocial Psychosocial workplace factors were assessed using the standard version of the job content questionnaire (JCQ) [20], consisting of 49 questions, supplemented with the job dissatisfaction subscale. This instrument is a widely-used measure of psychosocial stress at work comprising three domains: mental work load (psychological job demands), decision latitude and social support.…”

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“…The questionnaire also measured organisational factors suggested by the qualitative study to be potentially relevant: role adequacy (having the skills to address smoking), using the role adequacy subscale of the Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire (AAPPQ) (AAPPQ; Cartwright, 1980), with the item wording altered to reflect smoking rather than alcohol consumption; role legitimacy (feeling addressing smoking was a legitimate part of their role), using the role legitimacy subscale of the AAPPQ (Cartwright, 1980); workload, using the role overload subscale of the Michigan Organization Assessment Questionnaire (MOAQ) (Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins, & Klesh, 1983); autonomy, using the freedom subscale of the MOAQ (Cammann, et al, 1983); and co-worker and supervisor support, using the co-worker support and supervisor support subscales of the Job Content Questionnaire (Karasek, et al, 1998). All of these factors were measured on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high).…”

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“…Job Content Questionnaire -JCQ (Karasek et al, 1998, adapted by Araújo & Karasek, 2008). The JCQ evaluates the levels of demand, control (decision authority; skill discretion), and social support.…”

“…These relationships may be comprehended based on the demand-control theory (Karasek et al, 1998) and on theories explaining burnout syndrome (Maslach & Jackson, 1981;Maslach & Leiter, 2008), which report that the health of workers (in terms of occupational health) partially depends on their abilities to cope with the demands of their work.…”

“…The "demand" variable incorporates aspects such as demand levels, time and pressure of deadlines, and required concentration levels. In turn, the "control" variable incorporates aspects that influence the making of decisionsdecision authority and skill discretion (Karasek et al, 1998).…”