job content q johp 1998

8/12/2019 Job Content Q JOHP 1998

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Journal of Occupational Health Psychology Copyright 1998 by the Educational Publishing Foundation1998, Vol. 3, No. 4, 322 -35 5 1076-8998/98/$3.00

T h e J o b C o n t e n t Q u e s t i o n n a i r e J C Q ) :A n I n s tr u m e n t fo r I n t e r n a t io n a l ly C o m p a r a t i v eA s s e s s m e n t s o f Ps y c h o s o c i a l J o b C h a ra ct er is tic sRobert KarasekU n i v e r s i t y o f M a s s a c h u s e t t s L o w e l l Chantal BrissonL a v a l U n i v e r s it y

Norito KawakamiG i f u U n i v e r s i ty Irene Houtman and Paulien BongersN a t i o n a l I n s t i tu t e f o r W o r k a n d H e a l t hBenjamin mickN e w E n g l a n d M e d i c a l C e n t e r

Part I discusses the Job Content Questionnaire JCQ), designed to measure scales assessingpsychological dem ands, decision latitude, social support, physical dem ands, and job insecurity.Part II describes the reliability o f the JC Q scales in a cross-national context using 10,288 men and6,313 women from 6 studies conducted in 4 countries. Substantial similarity in means, standarddeviations, and correlations am ong the scales, and in correlations between scales and demographicvariables, 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 boundariesthan across occupa tions.

T h i s a r t i c l e co n s i s t s o f t h r ee p a r ts . P a r t I i n t ro d u c est h e J o b C o n t e n t Q u e s t i o n n a i r e J C Q ) a s a t o o l f o rp s y c h o s o c i a l j o b a s s e s s m e n t . F i r s t, a d e s c r i p t io n o fs c a l e s a n d t h e i r u n d e r l y i n g t h e o r e t i c a l c o n c e p t s i sp r e s e n te d . T h i s i s f o l l o w e d b y a d i s c u s s i o n o fe m p i r i c a l i s s u e s i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e q u e s t i o n -n a i r e an d i t s v a l i d i t y . P a r t I co n c l u d es w i t h ad i s c u s s io n o f m e a s u r e m e n t i s s u e s, a d m i n i s tr a t i v ei s s u es , an d fu t u re ch a l l en g es .

Robert Karasek, Depa rtment o f W ork Environment,University of Massachusetts Lo we ll; Chantal Brisson,Department o f Preventive and Social Medicine, LavalUniversity, Quebec C ity, Quebec, C anada; Norito Kaw akami,School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, GifuUniversity, Gifu, Japan; Irene Houtman and PanlienBongers, National Institute for Work and Health, Amster-dam; Benjamin Amick, The Health Institute, New EnglandMedical C enter, Boston.The Job Content Questionnaire JCQ) is copyrighted.Users should request the instrument from the JCQ Centersee the JCQ Usage Policy section). The JCQ is providedwith research documentation to most users free of charge,but commercial and very large research projects pay a usagefee to support comparative reliability analysis and instru-ment development on a nonprofit basis through the JCQCenter, University of Massachusetts Low ell.Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-dressed to Robert Karasek, Department o f W ork Environ-ment, University o f Massachusetts, Lo well, Massachusetts01854.

P a r t I I r ep o r t s t h e c ro s s -n a t i o n a l v a l i d i t y , f o r m ena n d w o m e n , o f t h e J C Q s c a l e s in s i x b r o a d l yr e p r e s e n t a t i v e p o p u l a t i o n s f r o m f o u r a d v a n c e d i n d u s -t r i a l s o c i e t i e s : t h e Un i t ed S t a t e s , C an ad a , t h eN e t h e r l a n d s , a n d J a p a n . J C Q s c a l e m e a n s , s t a nd a r dd ev i a t i o n s , r e l i ab i l i t i e s , an d co r r e l a t i o n s a r e co m -p a r e d . P a r t I I I r e v i e w s c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e i n t e r c o u n tr yan d i n t e ro ccu p a t i o n d i f f e r en ces i n t h e s ca l e s , d i s -cu s s e s s p ec i f i c s ca l e s i s s u es , an d d i s cu s s e s t h ei m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e s t u d y f o r i n t e r p r e t a ti o n o fp s y c h o s o c i a l j o b a s s e s s m e n t q u e s t i o n n a i r e s .

P RT ITh e Job Content Ques t ionnaire JCQ):

P s yc h o s oc i a l Job A s s e s s m e n t I n s tr u m e n tInstrument Overview

T h e J C Q i s a s e l f - a d m i n i s t e r e d i n s t r u m e n t d e -s i g n e d t o m e a s u r e s o c i a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r-i s ti c s o f j o b s . T h e b e s t - k n o w n s c a l e s - - a ) decisionlatitude b) psychological demands an d c ) socialsupport--are u s e d t o m e a s u r e t h e h i g h - d e m a n d / l o w -c o n t r o l / l o w - s u p p o r t m o d e l o f j o b s t ra i n d e v e l o p m e n t .Th e dem and/c ontrol m od el predicts , f i rs t , s t ress-relatedr i sk and , second , ac t ive-pa ss ive behav io ra l co rre la tes o fjobs . Oth er aspects o f work dem ands are assessed as wel l :

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SPECIAL SECTION : JOB CON TENT QUESTION NAIRE 323(d) ph ysic al deman ds and e) jo b insecurity. Theinstrument has a recom me nded length of 49 questions.

A l l s c a le s c a n b e u s e d f o r m i c r o l e v e l, j o b -ch a r ac t e r i s t ic an a ly t i c p u r p o ses , su ch a s a s se ss in g th er e l a t i v e r i sk s o f i n d iv id u a l s ' ex p o su r e s t o d i f f e r en two r k se t t i n g s t o p r ed ic t j o b - r e l a t ed i l l n e ss d ev e lo p -m en t , p sy ch o lo g ica l d i s t r e s s , co r o n a r y h ea r t d i sea se ,m u s cu lo sk e le t a l d i sea se , an d r ep r o d u c t iv e d i so r d e r s .T h e sca l e s a l so a l l o w t e s t i n g o f h y p o th ese s ab o u tac t iv a t io n , wo r k e r m o t iv a t io n , an d jo b sa t i s f ac t io nan d h av e b een u sed f o r su ch s tu d ie s . T h e co n cep tu a lf r a m e w o r k u n d e r l y i n g th e J C Q a l l o w s it s a p p l i c a ti o nin so c i a l p o l i cy a s a m easu r e o f work quality( Ka r a sek , 1 9 9 8) , i n ad d i t i o n to t h e m o r e co m m o n lyasse ssed wo r k q u an t i t y i s su es : wag es , h o u r s , an db e n e f i t s . B r o a d e r e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t i s s u e s o fsk i l l u t i l i z a t io n a s we l l a s so c i a l co s t s o f m ar k e t - b a sede c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t a r e b e g in n i n g t o b e a d d r e s s e d( Kar a s ek & T h eo r e l l , 1 9 9 0) u s in g th e in s tr u m en t . Nop e r so n a l i t y o r i en t a tio n sca l e s o r m easu r e s o f n o n - jo bs t re s s o rs a r e i n c l u d e d - - t w o a r e a s in w h i c h t h e u s e rm a y wan t t o su p p lem en t t h e i n s t ru m en t .

T h e JCQ h as b een t r an s l a t ed in to o v e r a d o zenlan g u ag es . T h e in s t r u m en t i s n a t io n a l ly s t an d a r d i z -ab le b y d e t a i l ed o ccu p a t io n in sev e r a l co u n t r i e s ,p r o v id in g an o ccu p a t io n a l sco r in g sy s t em . An ac t iv eu se r s ' g r o u p su p p o r t s u sag e o f th e JCQ, an d anin t e r n a t io n a l b o a r d o f r e sea r ch e r s d ec id es o n p o l i cyan d d ev e lo p m e n t i s su es .

J C Q S c a l e s a n d T h e i r T h e o r e ti c a l B a s e s

p sy ch o lo g ica l s t r a in o ccu r wh en th e p sy ch o lo g ica ld e m a n d s a r e h i g h a n d t h e w o r k e r ' s d e c i s io n l at i tu d ei s l o w: job strain. L o w so c ia l su p p o r t a t wo r k f u r th e rin c r ea se s r i sk . A seco n d se t o f h y p o th ese s , r e l a t ed tow h a t m i g h t b e c a l l e d good stress, i n v o l v e s activebehavior d e v e l o p m e n t u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f h i g hd em an d s an d h ig h d ec i s io n l a t i t u d e , wh ich p r ed ic tm o t iv a t io n , n ew l ea r n in g b eh av io r s , an d co p in gp a t t e r n d ev e lo p m en t ( o f co u r se , t h e ac t iv e b eh av io rh y p o th ese s a r e co n t in g en t o n d em an d s n o t b e in g to oh ig h ) . T h e r ev e r se i s p r ed ic t ed f o r l o w d em an d sco u p led w i th l o w d ec i s io n la t i t u d e : a v e r y u n m o t iv a t -in g jo b se t t i n g l e ad in g to n eg a t iv e jo b l e a r n in g o rg r ad u a l l o ss o f p r ev io u s ly acq u i r ed sk i l l s .

A d y n a m ic v e r s io n o f t h e m o d e l i n t eg ra t e s th e j o bs t r a in an d ac t iv e b eh a v io r h y p o th ese s w i th p e r so n a l -i t y ch a r ac t e r i s t ic s m easu r in g accu m u la t ed s t r a in an dse l f - e s t eem d ev e lo p m en t ( Ka r a sek & T h eo r e l l , 1 9 9 0)wi th th e g o a l o f p r ed ic t in g s t r a in d ev e lo p m en t an dlea r n in g o v e r t im e . T h e m o d e l i s b a sed o n m easu r e so f p s y c h o l o g i c a l d e m a n d s o f w o r k c o m b i n e d w i th am easu r e o f t a sk co n t r o l an d sk i l l u se ( d ec i s io nla t i tu d e ) . T h e p sy ch o lo g ica l d em an d d im en s io n r e -l a t e s t o h o w h a r d w o r k e r s w o r k ( m e n t al w o r k lo a d ;Mesh k a t i , Han co ck , & Rah am i , 1 9 9 0 ) , o r g an iza t io nco n s t r a in t s o n t a sk co m p le t io n , an d co n f l i c t i n gd em an d s . I t i n c lu d es su b sca l e s sh o wn in T ab le 1( Su b sca l e s 2 a , 2 b ; see Ka r a s ek & T h eo r e l l , 1 9 9 0) .T h e r e c o m m e n d e d v e r s i o n i n c lu d e s a d d i ti o n a lsp ec i f i c m easu r e s o f co g n i t i v e wo r k lo ad ( Su b sca i e s2c , 2d) .

T h e JCQ a r o se o u t o f t h e ad ap t iv e r e sp o n se tos e r v e t h e n e w e m p i r i c a l l y b a s e d a r e a s o f s o c i a lep id em io lo g y , b eh av io r a l m ed ic in e , an d p sy ch o s o c ia ljo b an a ly s i s , req u i r in g a m u l t id i sc ip l in a r y th eo r e t i c a lm o d e l . Becau se th e p r im ar y th eo r e t i c a l m o d e l u p o nwh ich th e JCQ i s b a sed an d d i scu ss io n s o f a l t e r n a t iv esca l e f o r m u la t io n s i n i t s d o m a in a r e ex t en s iv e lyr ev iewed e l sewh e r e ( d e Jo n g e & Ko m p ie r , 1 9 9 7 ;Ka rasek , 1979 , 1997; Kara sek & The ore l l , 1990;Kr is ten sen , 1995 , 1996; Lan dsbe rg is , SchnaU, War-ren , Schw ar tz , & Picke r ing , 1994), th is a r t ic le on lyp r e sen t s o u t l i n e s o f t h o se a r g u m en t s b y way o f anin t r o d u c t io n to t h e JCQ sca l e s .

S c a l e 1 : D e c i s i o n L a t i t u d e a n d S c a l e 2 :P s y c h o l o g ic a l D e m a n d s

T h e m o s t c o m m o n l y u s e d d e m a n d / c o n t r o l m o d e lh y p o th es i s ( Ka r a sek , 1 9 7 9, 1 9 97 ; Ka r a sek & T h eo -r e l l , 1 9 90 ) p r ed ic t s t h a t t h e m o s t ad v e r se r eac t io n s o f

S c a le s l a a n d l b : C o m p o n e n t s o f D e c i si o nL a t i t u d e - - S k i l l D i s c re t i o n a n d D e c i s io nA u t h o r i t y

T h e wo r k e r ' s co n t r o l o v e r t h e p e r f o r m an ce o f h i so r h e r o w n j o b i s m e a s u r e d b y t w o t h e o r e t i c a l l yd i s t i n c t su b d im en s io n s o f d ec i s io n l a t i t u d e th a t a r eu su a l ly h ig h ly co r r e l a t ed : sk i l l d i sc r e t io n an d d ec i -s io n au th o r i ty ( Ka r a se k & T h e o r e l l , 1 9 90 ). Sk i l ld i sc r e t io n ( Su b sca l e l a ) i s m easu r ed b y a se t o fq u es t io n s t h a t a s se ss t h e l ev e l o f sk i l l an d c r ea t iv i tyr eq u i r ed o n th e jo b an d th e f l ex ib i l i ty p e r m i t t ed th ew o r k e r i n d e c i d i n g w h a t s k i l ls t o e m p l o y ( s i m i l a r t ovariety; e .g . , Hack m an & L awle r , 1 9 7 1 ) . A seco n dsu b d im en s io n , d ec i s io n au th o r i ty ( Su b sca l e l b ) ,a s se sse s t h e o r g an iza t io n a l ly m e d ia t ed p o ss ib i l i t i e sf o r wo r k e r s t o m ak e d ec i s io n s ab o u t t h e i r wo r kautonomy; e .g . , Hackman & Lawler , 1971) . Aq u es t io n o n sk i l l s r eq u i r ed b y th e jo b a l lo wsasse ssm e n t o f sk i l l u n d e r u t i l i z a t io n ( Su b sca l e l c ) . A


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3 2 4 KAR AS E K E l AL .T ab l e 1Scal e s and Numbers o f Ques ti ons i n t he Ful l Recom men ded JCQ a nd t he Core QES

Scale Core QES JCQ Full recommended JCQ1. Decision latitude

a. Skill discretionb. Decision authorityc. Skill underu filizationd. Wo rk group decision authority (new)e. Formal authority (new)f. Union/representative influence (new)2. Psychological demands and mental workloada. General psychological demandsb. Ro le ambiguityc. Concentration (new)d. Mental work disruption (new)3. Social supporta. Socioemotional (coworker)b. Instrumental (coworker)c. Socioemotional (supervisor)d. Instrumental (supervisor)e. Hostility (coworker) (new)f. Hostility (supervisor) (new)4. Physical demandsa. General physical loadingb. Isometric load (new)c. Aerobic load (new)5. Job insecuritya. Ge nera i job insecuri tyb. Skill obsolescence (new)

Total que~ ions

6 63 32b 2b323

4 5

22 22 22 22 3

223 42

27 49Note . JCQ = Job Content Quest ionnaire; QE S = Quali ty of Employment Surveys.a Eight new scales/dimensions and additional items were added to make the Recomm ended JCQ form at.also used in this scale. b Education was

t h ir d , m a c r o l e v e l c o m p o n e n t o f d e c i s i o n l a ti t u d ea s s e s se s t h e p o s s i b i l it y o f p a r t i c i p a t o ry i n f l u e n c e o no r g a n i z a t i o n l e v e l i s su e s , a s w e l l a s u n i o n a n dw o r k - g r o u p p a r ti c i p a t io n ( S u b s c a l e s l d , l e , I f ) .

T h e J C Q i n t e g r a te s u s e o f b o t h i n d i v id u a l a n do c c u p a t i o n - b a s e d c o n c e p t i o n s o f j o b c h a r a c t er i s ti c s .T h e o c c u p a t i o n - b a s e d j o b c h a r a c t e r i st i c a s s e s s m e n t sy i e l d a n e f f e c t i v e c o m m u n i c a t i o n t o o l f o r i n t e rp r e t i n gt h e m e a n i n g o f t h e o t h e r w i s e a b s t r a c t p s y c h o s o c i a lJ C Q s c a l e s i n t e r m s o f s p e c i f ic j o b s s i tu a t io n s , a n dp r o v i d e a s o u r c e o f v a l i d a t i n g in f o r m a t i o n a b o u t j o bs it u at io n s . A s a n e x a m p l e : W h e n t h e t w o J C Q j o bc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s c a l e s - - - d e c i s i o n l a t i t u d e a n d p s y c h o -l o g i c a l d e m a n d s - - a r e a r r a y e d a s a f o u r - q u a d r a n td i a g r a m , t h e y d e f i n e t h e s t r a in a n d a c t i v e b e h a v i o rh y p o t h e s e s o f t h e d e m a n d / c o n t r o l m o d e l . T h e s e c a nb e u s e d t o d i s p la y ( s e e F i g u r e 1 ) a v e r a g e j o bc h a r a c t e r is t i c s o f o c c u p a t i o n s i n U . S . C e n s u s o c c u p a -t i on c o d e s a n d t h e U . S . Q u a l i ty o f E m p l o y m e n tS u r v e y s ( Q E S ) d a t a b a s e ( K a r a s e k & T h e o r e l l , 1 9 9 0 ).In F i g u re 1 , t h e act ive j o b q u a d r a n t ( u p p e r r i g h t) w i t h

h i g h d e m a n d a n d h i g h c o n t r o l , h a s h i g h - p r e s t i g eo ccu p a t i o n s : p u b l i c o f f i c i a l s , p h y s i c i an s , e n g i n ee r s ,n u r s es , a n d m a n a g e r s o f a l l k i n d s. T h e pass i ve j o bq u a d r a n t ( l o w e r le f t ), w i t h l o w d e m a n d s a n d l o wco n t ro l , h a s c l e r i c a l wo rk e r s s u ch a s b i l l i n g c l e rk s ,a n d l o w - s t a t u s s e r v i c e p e r s o n n e l s u c h a s j a n i t o rs . T h ehigh-strain q u a d r a n t ( l o w e r r ig h t ) , w i t h h i g h d e m a n d sa n d l o w c o n t r o l , h a s m a c h i n e - p a c e d o p e r a t i v e s s u c has a s s em b l e r s , cu t t i n g o p e ra t i v e s , f r e i g h t h an d l e r s , a sw e l l a s o t h e r l o w - s t a t u s s e r v i c e o p e r a t i v e s s u c h a sw a i t e r s . O c c u p a t i o n s w i t h h i g h p e r c e n t a g e s o fw o m e n a r e f r e q u e n t ( g a r m e n t s t i t c h e r s , w a i t r e s s e s ,t e l e p h o n e o p e r a t o r s , a n d o t h e r n u r s e ' s a i d e s ) . L o w -strain s e l f - p a c e d o c c u p a t i o n s ( u p p e r l e f t ) o f t e ni n v o l v e s i g n i f i c an t t r a i n i n g an d s e l f -p ac i n g , s u ch a sr ep a i rm en , l i n em en , an d n a t u ra l s c i en t i s t s . Kr i s t en s en( 1 9 9 6 ) r e c o n c e p t u a l i z e d t h e f o u r q u a d r a n t s a b o v er e s p e c t i v e l y a s quali f ied work, survei l lance work,tempo work, and craftsman's work. K r i s t e n s e ni d en t i f i ed t h e l i n k ag es t o s t ru c t u ra l an d t e ch n o l o g i ca l


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326 KARASEK ET AL.d ev e lo p m en t s i n p r o d u c t io n p r o cesse s , t h u s m ak in g i tm o r e u se f u l i n j o b r ed es ig n co n tex t s .

Scale : Social Supp ortT h e d e m a n d / c o n tr o l m o d e l h a s b e e n e x p a n d e d b y

Johnson ( Johnson , 1986; Johnson & Hal l , 1988) wi thth e ad d i t i o n o f so c i a l su p p o r t a s a t h i r d d im en s io n .T h e p r im ar y h y p o th es i s , t h a t j o b s wh ich a r e h ig h ind em an d s , l o w in co n t r o l , an d a l so lo w in so c i a lsu p p o r t a t wo r k ca r r y th e h ig h es t r i sk o f i l l n e ss , h a sb een em p i r i ca l ly su ccess f u l i n a n u m b er o f ch r o n icd i sea se s tu d ie s (Jo h n so n , 1 98 9 ; Ka r a sek & T h eo r e l l ,1990) . Karasek and Theore l l (1990) , Karasek , Tr ian-t i s , an d Ch au d h r y ( 1 9 8 2 ) , an d Jo h n so n an d Ha l l( 1 9 8 8) d i scu ssed th e d i f f e ren t i a l im p ac t s o f su p p o r tf r o m co wo r k e r s an d f r o m su p e r v i so r s an d , w i th inth ese , t h e sep a r a t e im p ac t s o f i n s t r u m en ta l an dso c io em o t io n a l su p p o r t , r e sp ec t iv e ly ( Su b sca l e s 3 a ,3 b , 3 c , 3 d ) . I n t e r p e r so n a l h o s t i l it y i s a l so in c lu d ed a s ameasure of social support deficit (Subscales 3e, 3f). Theso c ia l su p p o r t ad d i t i o n ack n o wled g es th e n eed o f an ytheory o f job s tress and behav ior development to assesssocial relations a t the w orkplace.

Scale 4: Physical Dem andsT h e d e m a n d i n g c o s t s o f w o r k a c t i v it y a r e n o t

ju s t m en ta l b u t a l so p h y s i ca l . I n d eed , t h e m o r et r ad i t i o n a l co n cep t o f wo r k lo ad s in v o lv es p h y s i ca llo ad s . Ph y s io lo g ica l e f f ec ts o f s t r e s s o n th e ca r d io v as -cu la r sy s t em , t h e e f f ec t iv en ess o f m en ta l f u n c t io n in g ,an d g en e r a l f a t i g u e a r e sh o wn in m u ch r e sea r chl i t e r a tu r e t o d ep en d o n b o th m en ta l an d p h y s i ca llo ad s , an d th u s t h i s m easu r e i s a l so in c lu d ed in t h eJCQ. A l th o u g h th e o r ig in a l QE S q u es t io n n a i r eco n ta in s o n ly a s in g le i t em o n p h y s i ca l ex e r t i o n( Su b sea l e 4 a ) , t h e r eco m m en d ed f o r m o f t h e JCQin c lu d es s t a t i c ( Su b sca l e 4 b ) a s we l l a s d y n am icp h y s i ca l l o ad s ( Su b sca l e 4 c ) , b o th sh o wn to b eim p o r t an t f o r m u scu lo sk e le t a l d i so r d e r d ev e lo p m en t .Scale 5: Job Insecuri ty

W o r k ' s p s y c h o l o g i c a l b u r d e n c o n s i s ts n o t o n l y o fth e wo r k o f c a r r y in g o u t t h e t a sk b u t a l so in t h eh u m an co s t s o f ad ap t in g to l ab o r m ar k e t d y n am ics .T h ese h av e b eco m e in c r ea s in g ly im p o r t an t i n th e l a s tsev e r a l y ea r s , b ecau se th e g lo b a l e co n o m y h as h adjo b - d i sp l ac in g e f f ec ts i n m an y co u n t r i e s an d in -creased repor ted ob insecu r i ty (Lohr , 1996) . M easure-m en t o f t h e se i t em s p o ses s t a t i s t ic a l ch a l l en g es ( see

the Job Insecurity Scale sec t io n ) b ecau se sp ec i f i cev en t s o f u n em p lo y m en t a r e r e l a t i v e ly lo w f r eq u en cy ,ev en wh en th e f ea r o f j o b in secu r i ty can b e m o r ewid e ly ex p e r i en ced ( Su b sca l e 5 a ) . T h e jo b in secu r i tye f f ec t c an d ep en d o n th e l ab o r m ar k e t r eq u i r em en t sf o r p a r t i cu l a r sk i l l s , lim i t in g f u tu r e ca r ee r d ev e lo p -m en t p o ss ib i l i t i e s ( Su b sca l e 5 b ) .

Theoretical Interpretation o f Sca lesan d Implications: Sociologicaland Psychological Origins

T h e JCQ p r o v id es ad v an tag es t o r e sea r ch e r s b yin t eg r a t in g s t r en g th s o f m u l t ip l e d i sc ip l in e s . Ho w-ev e r , i t a l so p r e sen t s th e JCQ u se r s w i th t h e ch a l l en g eof reconcif ing multiple scientif ic l i teraanes when f indingsare reported. W e brief ly outl ine ma jor l inkages below.

T h e p r im ar y h y p o th ese s o f th e JCQ, r e su l t i n g f r o mth e d em an d /co n t r o l m o d e l , a r e b o th p sy ch o lo g ica lan d so c io lo g ica l i n n a tu r e an d m e th o d o lo g y . T h e JC Qis so c io lo g ica l i n t h a t i t p r e su m es ex i s t en ce o fso c i a l ly o b je c t iv e en v i r o n m en t s t h a t sy s t em a t i -ca l ly a f f ec t i n d iv id u a l we l l - b e in g an d b eh av io r . T h e r eis a focus on (a) majo r soc ia l ins t i tu t ional se t t ings , (b )b r o ad p o p u la t io n g r o u p s , ( c ) co v a r i an ce o f m ea su r e swi th m a jo r d em o g r ap h ic ca t eg o r i e s , an d ( d ) i t sh y p o th ese s , wh ich ev o lv ed f r o m so c io lo g ica l l i f es t r e s s an d i l l n e ss a s w e l l a s wo r k a l i en a t io n t r ad i ti o n s .A l so , co n s i s t en t w i th m u ch so c io lo g ica l l i te r a tu re ,a s so c i a t io n s a r e u su a l ly co n t r o l l ed f o r so c i a l c l a s s ( f o rco n t r a s t i n g p e r sp ec t iv e s , see Gan s t e r & Sch au b r o eck ,1991; K arase k & Theo re l l , 1990).

Ho wev e r , t h e r e a r e a l so d i f f e r en ces w i th c l a s s i cso c io lo g ica l ap p r o ach es . T h e JCQ i s b a sed o n ath eo r e t i c a l f o u n d a t io n th a t im p l i e s an a l t e r n a t iv e ,p sy ch o s o c ia l c l a s s m o d e l , wh ich ap p ea r s t o p r ed ic th ea l th o u tco m es m o r e e f f ec t iv e ly th an th e co n v en -t io n a l c l a s s m o d e l ( Ka r a sek , 1 9 97 , 1 9 98 ; K a r a sek &The ore l l , 1990 , chap ters 5 , 9 , 10) . Kr is ten sen (1996)an d K ar a sek an d T h eo r e l l ( 1 9 9 0) n o ted th a t t h e sca l e san d m e th o d s a l so l en d th em se lv es t o u n d e r s t an d in g o fth e so c i a l an d t ech n o lo g ica l s t r u ctu r e o f p r o d u c t io np r o cesse s . Su ch a sso c i a t io n s a l l o w in t e r p r e t a t i o n o fJCQ f in d in g s f o r h u m an cap i t a l an d eco n o m icd ev e lo p m en t s tud ie s .

A v a r i e ty o f m e th o d o lo g ica l t e ch n iq u es f r o m b o thso c io lo g y an d p sy ch o m e t r i c s a r e u sed : sca l e r e l i ab i l -i t y an a ly s i s , s ca l e co n s t r u c t io n t e ch n iq u es , m u l t i l ev e lcau sa l an a ly se s , an d d a t a r ed u c t io n t e ch n iq u es su chas f ac to r an a ly s i s . T h e JC Q u ses so c io lo g ica lq u es t io n n a i r e a s se ssm en t m e th o d s to co l l ec t v a l idd a ta o n so c i a l en v i r o n m en t s . T h e JCQ o ccu p a t io n


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SPECIAL SECTION: JOB CONTENT QUESTIONNAIRE 327ap p r o ach u se s t h e wo r k e r ' s o c cu p a t io n a s an a l t e rn a -t i v e u n it o f a n a l y s i s to t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s o w n j o br ep o r t s , a l l o win g l i n k ag e to o th e r i n s ig h t s av a i l ab l ef o r o ccu p a t io n a l ex p e r i en ce .

T h e J CQ a l so re f l ec t s a p sy ch o lo g ica l f o cu s an d i sp r o b a b l y u s e d m o r e o f t e n b y p s y c h o l o g i s ts t h a n b yso c io lo g i s t s . I t ad d r e sse s c l a s s i c p sy ch o lo g ica l t o p i c ssu ch a s t h e b eh av io r a l b a s i s f o r em o t io n - d r iv enp sy ch o lo g ica l d is t r e s s , p sy ch o so m a t i c i l l n e ss d ev e lo p -m en t , an d ch an g es in m ic r o l ev e l b eh av io r r e la t ed toso c i a l s i t u a tio n s . T h e r e i s a p r e su m p t io n th a t p sy ch o -so c i a l ex p e r i en ces a r e a m a jo r d e t e r m in an t o f h ea l tha n d w e l l - b e in g , m e d i a t e d b y t h e n e u r o p h y s i o lo g i c a lm e c h a n i s m s , a s w e l l a s b e h a v i o r a l p a th w a y s .

Psy ch o lo g ica l ly , t h e JC Q- - d em an d /co n t r o l m e th o dref lec ts a stimulus ap p r o ach , a s o p p o sed to arelational ap p r o ach , wh ich em p h as i ze s p e r so n a lco g n i t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e p e r so n - en v i r o n m en tr e l a t i o n sh ip . T h e JCQ assu m es th a t b eh av io r i s , t o as ig n i f ic an t ex t en t , g en e r a t ed b y so c i a l en v i r o n m en t san d th e i r co n s t r a in t s o u t s id e th e i n d iv id u a l . T h eco g n i t i v e p sy ch o lo g ica l c l a im th a t d ec i s io n ch o ice sco n s t i t u t e th e p r im ar y m en ta l w o r k lo ad i s co n t r a r y toth e d em an d /co n t r o l h y p o th es i s t h a t so c i a l d em an d sa r e m o d e r a t e d b y t h e b e h a v i o r a l d eg r e e o f f r e e d o mthat dec is ion oppor tun i t ies p resen t (Karasek , 1997) .T h e J C Q - d e m a n d / c o n t r o l a p p r o a c h a l s o o f t e n t re a t sem o t io n a l r e sp o n se a s a d ep en d en t v a r i ab l e d e r iv edf r o m wo r k - r e l a t ed b eh av io r i a l r eq u i rem en t s .

T h e r e a r e a l so s ig n i f i c an t co n g r u en c ie s w i thp sy ch o p h y s io lo g y , a s we l l a s so m e d i f f e ren ces i nf o cu s . Mo s t p r ev io u s s t r e s s t h eo r i e s we r e d ev e lo p edto d e sc r ib e r eac t io n s t o i n ev i t a b l e acu te s t r e s s i ns i t u a t io n s t h r ea t en in g b io lo g ica l su r v iv a l ( Can n o n ,1914; Sey le , 1936/1976). The dem and/co n tro l m ode lwas , h o wev e r , d ev e lo p ed f o r wo r k en v i r o n m en t s i nwh ich s t r e s so r s a r e c h r o n ic , n o t i n i t i a l l y l i fe t h r ea t en -in g , an d a r e t h e p r o d u c t s o f so p h i s t i c a t ed h u m ano r g an iza t io n a l d ec i s io n m ak in g . T h e co n t r o l l ab i l i t y o fth e s t re s so was f o u n d to b e im p o r t an t an d ap p ea r s t oh a v e b e c o m e e v e n m o r e i m p o r t a n t a s w e d e v e l o pe v e n m o r e c o m p l e x d e m a n d s a n d l i m i t a t io n s o nin d iv id u a l b eh av io r . Ho w ev e r , s ig n i f i c an t co n s i s t en cyw i t h c l a s s ic p s y c h o p h y s i o l o g y i s d e m o n s t r a te d b yFr an k en h aeu se r an d Jo h an sso n ' s ( 1 9 8 6 ) p sy ch o lo g i -ca l r e sea r ch , wh ich sh o ws th e co n g r u en ce o f twop r im a r y p a t t e r n s o f p h y s io lo g ica l r e sp o n se ( ad r en a -l i n e r e l a t ed an d co r t i so l r e l a t ed ) w i th t h e m a inh y p o t h e s e s o f t h e d e m a n d / c o n t r o l m o d e l - - a l l o w i n gl in k ag e am o n g p h y s io lo g ic a l r e sp o n se , so c i a l s i t u a -t i o n , an d em o t io n a l r e sp o n se p a t t e r n s .

Empirical B asis o f JCQ Scale DevelopmentOrigin: Stage I fP re 19 84

T h e JCQ h as d e v e lo p ed in s t ag es . H i s to r i ca lly , t h eo r ig in o f t h e i n s t ru m en t , wh ich p r ed a te s t h e r eco m -m e n d ed v e r s io n JC Q in 1 98 5 , i n v o lv ed an a ly se s o fb r o ad p o o l s o f j o b ch a r ac t e r i s t ic su r v ey d a t a i n twoco u n t r ie s . T h e co r e q u es t io n s f o r t h e JCQ sca l e s a r et ak en f r o m th e th r ee n a t io n a l ly r ep r e sen ta t iv e sam p le so f t h e m u c h a n a l y z e d Q E S g a t h e r e d b y t h e U n i v e r s i tyo f Mich ig a n Su r v ey Resea r ch C en te r i n 1 9 6 9, 1 97 2 ,an d 1 9 77 f o r t h e U .S . Dep a r tm en t o f L ab o r . E ach o fth e th r ee QE S su r v ey s was ec l ec t i c a l ly d e s ig n ed an dsu r v ey ed o v e r 1 ,0 0 0 a sp ec t s o f wo r k ex p e r i en ce , i n am an n e r o f t en u s in g d i f f e ren t q u es t io n s f r o m su r v ey tosu r v ey . Ou r r e sea r ch g r o u p ( Ka r a sek e t a l . , 1 9 8 8 ;Sch war t z , P i ep e r , & Kar a sek , 1 9 8 8 ) co n d u c tedex ten s iv e s t a t i s t i c a l an a ly se s , an a ly se s o f t h eo r e t i c a lco h e r en ce , an d a n a ly se s o f i n d iv id u a l q u es t io n sp r ed ic t in g e f f i c i en cy f o r t h e se l a r g e g r o u p s o fq u es t io n s i n t h e ea r ly 1 9 8 0 s . T h ese co n f i r m ed th a tm a jo r a sp ec t s o f t h e co r e co n ten t o f t h e p sy ch o so c ia lw o r k e x p e r i e n c e c o u l d b e c a p t u r e d b y t h e s m a l ln u m b er o f QE S q u es t io n s . On th i s b a s i s , a sm a l lsu b se t o f t h e q u es t io n s was se l ec t ed to c r ea t e t h e Jo bCh a r ac t e r i s t i c L in k ag e Sy s t em ( Sch war t z e t a l . ,1 9 88 ). A p p r o x im a te ly two th i r d s o f t h e l i n k ag esy s t em q u es t io n s we r e su f f i c i en t ly s im i l a r ( w i thm in o r ad ap ta t io n s an d co r r ec t io n s ) a c r o ss th e y ea r s t oy ie ld co m m o n a sse s sm en t o f ab so lu t e sca l e sco re s : aQ E S - b a s e d J C Q c o r e ( s e e T a b l e 1 , c o l u m n 2 ). T h eth r ee QE S su r v ey q u es t io n se t s h ad 2 7 q u es t io n s i nc o m m o n i n t h e p s y c h o s o c i a l a r e a, w h i c h a l l o w e dd e v e l o p m e n t o f a p o o l e d s a m p l e o f a l l 4 , 9 0 0r e sp o n d en t s , s t i l l b y f a r t h e l a r g es t n a t io n a l lyr ep r e sen ta t iv e U .S . d a t a se t o n p sy ch o so c ia l j o bch a r ac t e r is t i c s . T h i s co r e se r v es a s t h e so u r ce o fs t an d a r d sco r e d a t a f o r JCQ o ccu p a t io n a l m ean sco r e san d a b a s i s f o r t im e - r e l a t ed co m p ar i so n s in t h e sca l e s( s t a t is t i c a l r e l i ab i l i t y i s d i sc u ssed in Ka r a sek &Theore l l , 1990 , Appendix 1 ) .

T h e v a l id a t io n f o r t h e u t i l i t y o f su ch sca l e s wasa l so d ev e lo p ed f r o m a s im i l a r se t o f q u es t io n s i nlo n g i tu d in a l, Sw ed i sh n a t io n a l ly r ep r e sen ta t iv e d a t a -b ase s , wh ich co u ld b e an a ly zed ex ten s iv e ly f o rco v a r i a t i o n s w i th o th e r so c i a l an d in d iv id u a l d a t a(Kara sek , 1976 , 1979; Ka rase k & TheoreU, 1990) andwh ich h ad ex ten s iv e h ea l th o u tco m e d a t a . T h esean a ly se s , wh i l e co n fi r m in g th e d em an d /co n t r o l m o d e lu t i l i t y , a l so i l l u m in a ted th e im p o r t an ce o f d em o -g r ap h ic , o ccu p a t io n a l , an d s o c i a l r e l a t io n s d a t a , an db r o a d l y a s s e s s e d w o r k d e m a n d a n d h a z a r d d a t a


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328 KAR ASEK ET AL.( Kar a se k e t a l. , 1 9 81 ; K a r a sek , Sch war t z , & P iep e r ,1 9 83 ) an d im p l i ed th a t a f u tu r e m easu r em en tin s t r u m en t sh o u ld n o t b e r e s t r i c t ed to t h e d em an d /co n t r o l t a sk q u es t io n s a lo n e .

Stage II: JCQ Recommended Version--1985T h e n e x t s t a g e w a s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e J C Q

Rec o m m en d ed Ver s io n 1 .1 i n r e sp o n se to r eq u es t fo ran in s t r u m en t t o a s se ss t h e p sy ch o so c ia l h y p o th ese san d d em an d /co n t r o l m o d e l s . T h i s i s t h e cu r r en tv e r s io n o f t h e i n s t ru m en t . T h e d es ig n o f t h e cu r r en tJCQ was in i t i a t ed b y r eq u es t f r o m th e U .S . Na t io n a lHea r t , L u n g an d Blo o d I n s t i t u t e ' s r eq u es t f o r sca l e sf o r t h e U .S . F r am in g h am Of f sp r in g S tu d y . T h e JCQau th o r s we r e aw ar e o f t h e l en g th l im i t a t i o n s p o sed b yr e sea r ch t e am s in n a t io n a l su r v ey d es ig n s an d th eh es i t an cy o f o th e r r e sea r ch e r s ad o p t in g q u es t io n se t sn o t o f t h e i r o wn d es ig n , t h u s , t h e d e s ig n o f th e n ewJCQ in s t r u m en t i n 1 9 8 4 f o cu sed o n a v e r y sh o r t ,e f f i c ien t q u es t io n n a i re t h a t c o u ld b e se l f - ad m in i s t e r edin 1 5 ra in , w i th m in im a l p a r t i c ip an t g u id an ce .

T h e o r ig in a l QE S co r e was n o t t h eo r e t i c a l ly p r ec i sein sev e r a l a r ea s ( p a r t i cu l a r ly p sy ch o lo g ica l an dp h y s i c a l d em an d s) . T o ad d p r ec i s io n to t h e t h eo r e t i c a lco n s t r u c t s o f t h e QE S co r e , t o ex p an d th eo r e t i c a lc o v e r a g e o f b o t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d p h y s i c a l d e -m an d s , t o ex p an d jo b in secu r i ty an d so c i a l su p p o r tsca l e co v e r ag e , an d to a s s i s t i n d i sc r im in an t v a l id i ty ,we in c lu d ed ad d i t i o n a l n ew ly d r a f t ed q u es tio n s ( seeT ab le 1 , co lu m n 1 ) t o t h e QE S q u es t io n s , y i e ld in g th ep r e sen t se t o f sca l e s u sed in t h e JCQ d a ta se t s . T h esee x p a n s i o n s f o r m e d t h e R e c o m m e n d e d J C Q I n s t r u -m en t Ve r s io n ( see T ab le 1 , co lu m n 2 ) , w i th 4 9q u es t io n s , wh ich i s t h e m o s t co m m o n ly u sed v e r s io n( 1 4 ad d i t i o n a l n ew q u es t io n s an d 8 a d d i t i o n a l QE Sq u es t io n s h ad b een ad d ed b ey o n d th e o r ig in a l co r e ).Ad d i t i o n a l q u es t io n se t s co v e r p h y s i ca l wo r k h aza r d s ,com puter in ter faces , custom er in terac t ion , and psycho -lo g ica l s tr a in sca le s . An u p d a te o f th e r eco m m en d edvers ion in 1995 (Version 1 .5 ) inc lu ded p i lo t vers ionso f a s e t o f g l o b a l e c o n o m y q u e s t i o n s a n d m o r es t an d a r d i zab le p sy ch o lo g ica l s t r a in sca l e s .

JCQ Focus and Scale Design CriteriaT h e m u l t ip l e g o a l s u n d e r ly in g JCQ co n s t r u c t io n

in t r o d u ce co m p e t in g d es ig n c r i t e r i a : ( a ) s t an d a r dsca l e r e l i ab i l i t y a s se ssm en t , ( b ) co v e r ag e b r ead th , ( c )sca l e l en g th eco n o m y , ( d ) sca l e n u m b er eco n o m y , an d(e) spec i f ic con ten t in terpre tab i l i ty . A pure conc ep t o fs t a t i s t ic a l r e l i ab i l i t y m ean s th a t a se t o f q u es t io n s

sh o u ld a sse ss a s in g le u n d e r ly in g th eo r e t i c a l co n -s t ru c t . I n JCQ d es ig n , t r u e s t a t i s t ic a l re l i ab i l i t y i sso m e t im es b a l an ced ag a in s t a g o a l o f a sp ec i f i ccon ten t in terpre tab i l i ty . Thus, the sca les a re a lsoco m p o sed o f su b sca l e s w i th sep a r a t e i n t e r p r e tab i l i t y( see T ab le 1 an d d i scu ss io n ab o v e ) , a g o a l wh ichco m p e te s w i th sca l e s t a t i s t i c a l r e l i ab i l it y . T h e q u es -t i o n s sh o u ld a l so b e s t an d a r d i zab le q u es t io n s. T h eJ C Q h a s a l s o h a d t h e g o a l o f c o v e r i n g t h e m o s tim p o r t an t a sp ec t s o f q u a l i t a t i v e wo r k s i t u a tio n s w i th asm a l l en o u g h n u m b er o f sca l e s t h a t t h e i n t e r ac t io n sb e tween th e sca l e s can b e f ea s ib ly ex am in ed .

Toward Objective Assessment:Rating Versus EvaluationA n i m p o r t a n t g o a l o f t h e J C Q i s g a t h e r i n g

o b j e c t i v e d a t a a b o u t w o r k e n v i ro n m e n t s r e le v a n tf o r p r ev en t io n - o r i en t ed g o a l s o f im p r o v in g so c i a l an dp sy ch o lo g ica l wo r k in g co n d i t i o n s . T h e Sw ed i shL ev e l o f L iv in g Su r v ey ( Jo h an sso n , 1 9 7 1 ) was am e th o d o lo g ica l g u id e: T h e b i a s i n t h e q u es t io n n a i r er e sp o n se b y th e p a r t i c ip an t , wh i l e i n ev i t ab l e , wasd es ig n ed to b e m in im ized . T h e q u es t io n s a r e d e s ig n edto r ep o r t ab o u t , b u t n o t ev a lu a t e , t h e p a r t i c ip an t ' su su a l o r m a in jo b . T h u s , t h e JCQ q u es t io n s u se s im p lel an g u ag e so th e r e a r e m ean in g f u l r e sp o n ses p o ss ib l eb y a l l em p lo y ed r e sp o n d en t s , p r e sen ted in a l an g u ag es im p le en o u g h to b e u n d e r s to o d b y p a r t i c ip an t s a t a l led u ca t io n l ev e l s . T h e r e sp o n se se t i s d e s ig n ed toa sse ss t h e v a l id i ty o f t h e s t a t em en t ab o u t t h e w o r ken v i r o n m en t o n a 4 - p o in t sca l e , f a c i l i t a t in g th es im i l a r q u an t i ta t i v e we ig h t in g o f q u es t io n s .

Use o f p a r t i c ip an t s ' o wn q u es t io n n a i re r ep o r t sab o u t t h e i r j o b s , o f co u r se , au to m a t i ca l ly i n t r o d u cesse l f - p e r cep t io n s - - th e so u rce o f t h e m a jo r c r it i q u e o fv a l id i ty o f i n s t r u m en t s su ch a s t h e JC Q ( see th eImplication for Broad Interpretability of Psychoso-cial JCQs sec t io n ) . I n m an y ca se s , se l f - rep o r t s o n jo bco n d i t i o n s a r e t h e o n ly f ea s ib l e i n f o r m a t io n - g a th e r in gs t r a t eg y ab o u t wo r k e r s ' d e t a i l ed so c i a l wo r k in gco n d i t i o n s . Fo r ex am p le , i t wo u ld t ak e an o u t s id eo b se r v e r m u ch t im e to u n d e r s t an d th e so c i a l su p p o r ts i t u a t io n o f t h e wo r k e r . F r e se an d Z ap f t ( 1 9 8 8 )c l a im e d th a t t h e r i sk o f se l f - r ep o r t b i a s d ep en d s o n th ed eg r ee to wh ich th e q u es t io n s r eq u i r e a co m p lexb u r d en o f ev a lu a t iv e co g n i t i o n b y th e p a r t i c ip an t . T h eJCQ o b jec t iv e a s se ssm e n t g o a l m ean s th a t t h eq u es t io n s a t t em p t t o m in im ize th i s se l f - r e f l ex iv ec o m p o n e n t : T h e y report about j o b s , b u t minimizeevaluation o f th e m . Q u e s ti o n s o f t h e t y p e l a c k o fd e c i s io n m a k i n g i s i m p o r t a n t f o r m e a n d t h e t i m e


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SPECIAL SECTION: JOB CONTENT QUESTIONNAIRE 329p r e s s ur e s a r e t o o m u c h f o r m e a r e r e p l a c e d b yq u es t io n s t h a t em p h as i ze s im p le a s se ssm en t s o fen v i r o n m en ta l co n d i t i o n s o n ly , su ch a s : I h av ef r e e d o m t o m a k e d e c is i o n s a b o u t m y j o b a n d M yjo b r eq u i r e s I wo r k f a s t . Su ch l i n g u i s t i c d i s t i n c t io n sh av e b een co n s id e r ed q u i t e s ig n i f i c an t i n o th e rp sy ch o lo g ica l r e sea r ch co n tex t s : fo r ex am p le , s t a t e -t r a i t r e sp o n se d i f f e r en t ia t i o n s b a sed o n p h r a s in gd i f f e r en ces su ch a s T o d ay I f ee l an g r y v e r su s Iu su a l ly f ee l an g r y .

So u r ces o f d i f f icu l ty r em a in , h o w ev e r . Se l f -r e f le x i v e j u d g m e n t s r e m a i n i n t w o p s y c h o l o g i c a ld e m a n d q u e s ti o n s : w o r k h a r d a n d w o r k f a s t ( s e eA p p e n d i x A ) . A l s o , th e J C Q g o a l o f b r o a d c o v e r a g eo n jo b s ch a r ac t e r i s t i c s w i th a sh o r t se t o f q u es t io n sm e a n s t h a t m a n y q u e s ti o n s e l i c i t s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t sab o u t so m e q u a l i t y o f t h e j o b ( sk i l l r eq u i r em en t s ,d ec i s io n p o ss ib i l i t i e s ) . Qu es t io n s ab o u t m o r e sp ec i f icjo b s i t u a t io n s co u ld av o id th i s p r o b lem , b u t wo u ldl ik e ly m ak e th e q u es t io n n a i r e l o n g e r o r t h e q u es t io n su n ju d g ab le b y so m e r e sp o n d en t s , an d th e r e f o r e t h er e sp o n ses d i f f i cu l t t o co m p ar e ac r o ss g r o u p s .

Occup at ion Based Ana lys isan d Sc ore Standardizat ion

I n ad d i t i o n to d i r ec t ad m in i s t r a t i o n o f JCQq u es t io n n a i r e s t o wo r k e r s , t h e JCQ sy s t em o f f e r s aseco n d se t o f o ccu p a t io n - b ased m e th o d o lo g ie s . T h e r ei s a n e x t e n s i v e s y s t e m o f J C Q s c o r e s s c a l e s b yd e ta i l ed o ccu p a t io n an d g en d e r i n sev e r a l co u n t r i e sth a t i s t h e b a s i s o f ( a ) t h e JCQ o ccu p a t io n a l sco r es t an d a r d i za t io n sy s t em an d ( b ) t h e o ccu p a t io n a ll i n k ag e sy s t em .

De ta i l ed sco r in g p r o ced u r e s f o r t h e JCQ sca l e s a r ed e s c r i b e d i n t h e J C Q Q u e s t i o n n a ir e a n d U s e r ' s G u i d e( Kar a sek , 1 9 8 5) . M o s t o f t h e sca l e s h av e b eens t an d a r d i zed b y d e t a i l ed o ccu p a t io n co d es f o r sev e r a ln a t io n a l p o p u la t io n s ( f o r t h e U .S . p o p u la t io n : Ka r a se k& Theore l l , 1990 , Appendix ; Schwar tz e t a l . , 1988;wi th r e l a t ed sca l e s s tan d a r d i zed in Sw ed en [ wo r kex p o su r e m a t r ix : Jo h n so n & Jo h an sso n , 1 9 9 1 ;Jo h n so n & S tewar t , 1 9 93 ]) . T h e JC Q q u es t io n s can b eco m p ar ed to n a t io n a l sca l e sco r e s f o r d e t a i l ed cen su sco d e b y sex an d b y f o u r - d ig i t i n d u s t r y co d e . T h i sa l lo ws u n iq u e a sse ssm en t o f d i f f e r en ces b e tween at a rg e t g r o u p a n d n a t i o n a l n o r m s f o r p s y c h o s o c i a lj o b d i m e n s io n s . T h i s a l l o w s J C Q u s e r s i n v o l v e d i np r ac t i ca l ly o r i en t ed jo b an a ly se s , sm a l l p o p u la t io n s ,o r s in g le - p l an t s tu d ie s t o co m p ar e th e i r f i n d in g s w i thn a t io n a l av e r ag es o n th e sca l e s ( b r o k en d o w n b y sex ,o ccu p a t io n , an d in d u s t r y ) .

T h e sam e o ccu p a t io n a l b a s i s t h a t p r o v id es t h es t an d a r d i zed sco r e s i s a l so th e b a s i s o f an o f t enu t i l i z ed o ccu p a t io n a l sco r e l i n k ag e sy s t em ( Sch war t ze t a l . , 1 9 8 8) . T h e JCQ jo b ch a r ac t e r i s ti c sca l e s can b el in k ed to o th e r d a t ab ase s t h r o u g h U .S . t h r ee - d ig i tc en su s o ccu p a t io n co d es ( 1 9 7 0 ) an d a l so to f o u r - d ig i tU .S . S t an d a r d I n d u s t r i a l C la ss i f i c a t io n ( in d u s t r yc l a ss i fi c a t io n ) co d es . T h i s d a t ab ase l i n k ag e sy s t ema l lo ws p sy ch o s o c ia l j o b co n ten t sco r e s to b e a sso c i -a t ed w i th h ea l th an d p r o d u c t iv i ty o u tco m es inn a t io n a l o r co m p an y d a t ab ase s a l r ead y in ex i s t en ce( su ch a s U .S . Cen su s , Co m m er ce , o r U .S . Na t io n a lCen te r f o r H ea l th S t a t i s t i c s d a t a ) , f o r wh ich d i r ec tq u es t io n n a i r e d a t a co l l ec t io n wo u ld n o t b e f ea s ib l e .

Aggregate Scor ing Methods f or Work GroupsBias o f f i n d in g s co u ld p o ten t i a l l y o ccu r w i th

se l f - r ep o r t ed p sy ch o so c ia l wo r k en v i r o n m en t an dd ep en d en t v a r i ab l e s su ch a s d ep r e ss io n , ex h au s t io n ,an d d i s sa t i s f ac t io n ( see t h e Implications fo r BroadInterpretability of Psycho social JC Q s sec t io n ). O n er em e d y i s t o ag g r eg a te se l f - r ep o r t r e sp o n ses b y w o r kg r o u p s w i th s im i l a r wo r k s i t u a t io n s , t h u s d i lu t in gind iv idua l b iase s (Kr is tensen , 1996). Th is i s , o fco u r se , t h e b a s i s o f t h e o ccu p a t io n d a t ab ase l i n k ag es y s t e m s u g g e s t e d a b o v e , b u t s y s t e m s o f m i x e dse l f - r ep o r t an d wo r k - g r o u p ag g r eg a ted a sse ssm en th av e a l so b een su ccess f u l ly ap p l i ed ( Vah te ra , Pen t t i,& U ute la , 1996) .

T h e a l t e r n a t iv e o f ex p e r t o b se r v a t io n s i s c e r t a in lyth eo r e t i c a l ly d e s i r ab l e , b u t i n p r ac t i c e i t h a s p r o b lem s .E x p e r t o b se r v a t io n s a r e co s t ly , t im e co n su m in g , an din a sse ssm en t o f so c i a l in t e r ac t io n s d o n o t o b v io u s lyg en e r a t e m o r e accu r a t e m easu r e s r e su l t i n g in l o win te r r a t e r r e li ab i l i ty . T h e r e a r e a l so th eo r e t i c a l b i a se sin v o lv ed in t h e v e r y co n cep t o f s tan d a r d ex p e r tm easu r e s : I t i s m u ch ea s i e r t o m easu r e t h e ea s i lyo b se r v ed , r ep e t it i v e q u a l i t y o f t h e l o w- s t a tu s a s sem b ly -l i n e j o b s t h an th e d iv e r se t a sk s o f n ig h - s t a tu sm an ag e r s o r p r o fe ss io n a l s . T h u s , m easu r em en t reliability f o r t h e m o s t p o t e n t s e t o f p s y c h o s o c i a l j o bch a r ac t e r i s t ic s ( d ec i s io n l a t i t u d e , sk i l l, an d d ec i s io nau to n o m y ) i s p r o b ab ly co r r e l a t ed w i th scale level aco m p lex co n f o u n d in g o f co n ten t an d v a l id i ty ( fo r a l lm e th o d o lo g ie s , n o t j u s t t h e JC Q) .

Sca le Statistical ValidityT h e m o s t su b s t an t i a l co m p i l a t i o n o f r e l i ab i l i t y

f in d in g s i s p r e sen ted in t h e f o l lo w in g sec t io n ( Pa r t I I ) .Ho w ev e r , p r ev io u s r e l i ab i l i t y an a ly se s o f t h e sca l e s


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330 KARASEK ET AL.v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h e J C Q s c a le s h a v e b e e n p u b l i s h e df o r t h e U .S . n a t io n a l p o p u la t io n s ( Q .E .S . d a t ab ase :Ka r a sek & T h eo r e l l , 1 9 9 0 , Ap p en d ix 1 ; Sch war t z e ta l . , 1988) . Kaw akarn i and Fu j i gak i (1996) andK a w a k a m i , K o b a y a s h i , A r a k i , H a r a t a ni , a n d F u r u i( 1 9 9 5) p u b l i sh ed th e f i rs t s t u d ie s o n th e r e l i ab i l i t y o fr e c o m m e n d e d f o r m a t J C Q s c a le s ( o m i t ti n g p h y s ic a ld em an d s an d jo b in secu r i ty ) . T h e s tu d y co n c lu d edth a t t h e JCQ i s r e l i ab l e f o r Jap an ese p o p u la t io n s an df o u n d Jap an ese o ccu p a t io n sca l e r a t i n g s t h a t a r es im i l a r to t h o se in t h e Un i t ed S ta t e s ( see Ap p en d ix A) .Br i s so n e t a l . ( in p r e ss ) sh o wed JCQ sca l e re l i ab i l i t i e sto b e g o o d an d co n f i r m ed th e sca l e s t r u c tu r e( L a r o cq u e , Br i s so n , & B lan ch e t , i n p r e ss ) f r o m b o thr an d o m p o p u la t io n su r v ey an d a w h i t e - co l l a r su r v eyf r o m Q u eb ec , Can ad a . A 1 9 93 l a r g e - sca l e sam p le inth e Un i t ed S ta t e s ( Am ick , Man g io n e , & W u , 1 9 9 8 )r ep o r t ed JCQ sca l e s t o b e r e l i ab l e , a s we l l a s sca l es t ruc ture conf i rmat ion , bu t some sca les d i f fer s ign i f i -can t ly f r o m th e r eco m m en d ed JCQ f o r m a t . San teQu eb ec ( 1 9 9 4 ) sh o w ed accep tab le JCQ sca l e r e l i ab i l i -t i e s i n t h e Ne th e r l an d s , b u t so m e f ac to r s t r u c tu r ed i f ferences a rose .

Predictive ValidityI t i s b ey o n d th e sco p e o f t h i s a r t i c l e t o r ev i ew th eex ten s iv e r e sea r ch l i t e r a tu r e u s in g th e JCQ an d

JCQ- l ik e sca l e s t o p r ed ic t i l l n e ss ( m u ch r e sea r ch i sb ase d o n s im i l a r , b u t n o t ex ac t ly eq u iv a l en t sca le s ) .C o m p r e h e n s i v e r e v ie w s a r e p r e s e n te d b y M a r m o t a n dTheore l l (1988) , Kr is tensen (1989) , Schnal l andLandberg is (1994) , Kr is tensen (1995) , Kasl (1996) ,an d T b eo r e l l an d Kar a sek ( 1 9 9 6 ) . Ho wev e r , i nsu m m ar y , i t c an b e s t a t ed th a t t h e JCQ sca l e s an dJCQ- l ik e sca l e s d em o n s t r a t e su b s t an t i a l p r ed ic t iv ev a l id i ty w i th r e sp ec t t o s t r e s s - r e la t ed ch r o n ic d i sea sein in t e r n a t io n a l an d U .S . r e sea r ch .Jo b s t r a in an d h ea r t d i sea se a s so c i a t io n s co n s t i t u teth e b r o ad es t b a se o f em p i r i ca l su p p o r t f o r th e m o d e l .JCQ sca l e s o r s im i l a r sca l e s a s so c i a t e s ig n i f i c an t lywi th ca r d io v asc u la r m o r t a l i t y u s in g a w id e r an g e o fm e th o d o lo g ie s . L an d sb e r g i s ( au g m en t in g h i s e a r l i e rr ev i ew [ Sch n a l l & L an d sb e r g i s , 1 9 9 4 ] b y p e r so n a lco m m u n ica t io n , Decem b er 1 9 9 7 ) t ab u la t ed 7 2 p u b -l i sh ed s tu d ie s o f c a r d io v ascu la r d i sea se (CV D) o rCV D r i sk f ac to r s te s t i n g a sso c i a t io n s w i th j o b s t r a inu s in g JCQ - l ik e sca l e s . Of t h e 3 6 s tu d ie s i n v es t ig a tin gCVD o r m o r t a l i t y , o v e r two th i r d s sh o wed p o s i t i v ea sso c i a t io n s ( i . e . , e i t h e r a l l s i g n i f i c an t o r m ix eds ig n i fi c an t p o s i t i v e r e su l t s ) w i th j o b s t r ain , an d m an yo f t h e se we r e p o s i t i v e co h o r t s tu d ie s . L an d sb e r g i s ' s

u p d a te h a s ca t a lo g ed 4 1 s tu d ie s o f t h e m a jo r co r o n a r yh ea r t d i sea se r i sk f ac to r s ( b lo o d p r e ssu r e , se r u mch o le s t e r o l , an d sm o k in g ) t e s t i n g a sso c i a t io n s w i thjo b s t r ain . I n o v e r a d o zen s tu d ie s o f b lo o d p r e ssu r eu s in g so p h i s t i c a t ed am b u la to r y a sse ssm en t t e ch n o lo -g i e s , a l l sh o w e i th e r p o s i t i v e o r m ix ed p o s i t i v er e su l ts . Ho w ev e r , l e s s - so p h i s t i c a t ed b lo o d p r e ssu r em easu r em en t t e ch n o lo g ie s sh o w n o co n s i s t en t a s so c i a -t i o n s , an d sm o k in g an d ch o le s t e r o l h av e m ix edp o s i t i v e an d n u l l a s so c i a t io n s .

Co n s i s t en t a s so c i a t io n s b e twee n m en ta l s t r a in an dJCQ- l ik e sca l e s a r e a l so r ep o r t ed ( see Bo u r b o n n a i s ,Bu sso n , M o i san , & V ez ina , 1 9 9 6; K a r a sek &The ore l l , 1990) , bu t d i f feren t ia l e f fec ts o f jo bch a r ac t e r i s t ic s a re n o ted . M easu r e s o f ex h au s t io n an db u r n o u t a r e m o r e co n s i s t en t ly a s so c i a t ed w i th h ig hp sy ch o lo g ica l d em an d s , wh e r ea s d ep r e ss io n an dan x ie ty m easu r e s a r e m o r e s t r o n g ly a sso c i a t ed w i thlo w d ec i s io n l a t i tu d e .

Occu p a t io n a l m u scu lo sk e le t a l i n ju r y p r ed ic t io n i sr ev i ewed b y Bo n g e r s , d e W in te r , Ko m p ie r , an dHi ld eb r an d t ( 1 9 9 3 ) , wh o f o u n d su p p o r t f o r t h ep r ed ic t iv e u t i l i t y o f t h e d em an d /co n t r o l /su p p o r t m o d e l ,p a r t i cu l a r ly f o r u p p e r ex t r em i ty d i so r d e r s . Man yad d i t i o n a l s tu d ie s u s in g th e d em an d /co n t r o l m o d e lan d JCQ sca l e s h av e b een u n d e r t ak en s in ce th en ,in c lu d in g a sso c i a t io n s w i th p r eg n an cy d i so r d e r s( Br an d t & Ne i l sen , 1 9 92 ; Fen s t e r et a l ., 1 9 9 5 ) an di m m u n e s y s t e m d i sf u n c ti o n s (K a w a k a m i & F u j i g a k i,1996; Pete rs et al . , 1998).

JCQ Measurement and dministrative IssuesJCQ dministration

T h e JC Q i s d e s ig n ed f o r se l f - ad m in i s t r a t i o n an dh as o f t en b een in c lu d ed a s a sec t io n in o th e rq u es t io n n a i r e i n st r u m en t s i n w h ich a sh o r t i n t ro d u c -to r y sen ten ce ab o u t h o w to r e sp o n d to t h e q u es t io n s i sin c lu d ed . T h e co m p le t io n t im e i s sh o r t , ap p r o x i -m a te ly 1 5 m in f o r t h e f u l l r e co m m en d ed v e r s io n .P r o f e ss io n a l a s s i s t an ce , su ch a s t h e r e sea r ch p e r so nr ev iewin g th e in s t ru c t io n s , h a s a l so o f t en o ccu r r ed .

I n ad d i t i o n to t h e s t an d a r d JCQ q u es t io n s , JCQu se r s a r e en co u r ag ed to ad d th e i r o wn sp ec i f i c

u m b r e l l a q u es t io n s t h a t r e f e r t o t h e m eas u r em en to f sp ec i f i c j o b co n d i t i o n s i n t h e su r v ey ed wo r k s i t e s .A l th o u g h th e u m b r e l l a q u es t io n s wo u ld d i f f e r b e -tween s tu d ies , t h ey co u ld b e f ac to r an a ly zed wi th t h eo th e r JCQ q u es t io n s an d co r r e l a t ed w i th t h e s t an d a r dJCQ sca l e s u sed a s r e f e ren ce p o in t s .


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SPECIAL SECTION : JOB CON TENT QUESTION NAIRE 331JCQ Breadth of Use and Scale Consistency

T h e in s t r u m en t h a s b een se l ec t ed f o r la r g e s tu d ie so f j o b c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a te s , C a n a d a ,E u r o p e , an d Jap an . T h e JCQ i s b e in g u sed b y l a r g es tu d ie s i n E u r o p e ( o v e r 5 0 ,0 0 0 p a r t i c ip an t s ) an dJap an ( o v e r 4 0 ,0 0 0 p a r t i c ip an t s ) f o r t h e s tu d y o f j o bs t r a in , h ea r t d i sea se , an d ab sen tee i sm . T h e sh o r tl en g th an d p r ed ic t iv e v a l id i ty ap p ea r t o b e th e m a jo rr ea so n s f o r i t s su ccess . L en g th i s m en t io n ed a s ac r u c i a l i n s t r u m en t p a r am e te r b y m an y u se r s ( asu b s t an t i a l n u m b er wo u ld l i k e an ev en sh o r t e rin s t r u m en t ; t h e r e i s n o v a l id a t ed sh o r t e r i n s t r u m en twi th s t an d a r d i zab le sco r e s a t p re sen t ) . Becau se o f t h eac t iv e in t e r n a t io n a l co l l ab o r a t io n b y JCQ r e sea r ch e r s ,t h e e f f or t i n v e s te d b y m a n y i n d i v i d u a l J C Q p r o j e c ts i nth e p a s t i s n o w y ie ld in g co l l ec t iv e b en e f i ts w i th t h ed ev e lo p m en t o f co m p ar a t iv e d a t ab ase s t h a t f u r th e ren h an ce th e d a t a i n t e r p r e t ab i l i t y o f e ach s tu d y.

JCQ Usage Study ComplianceWith Recommended FormatT h e J C Q h a s r e t a in e d th e s a m e r e c o m m e n d e d

f o r m a t ( Ve r s io n 1 .1) s in ce 1 98 5 ( see Ap p e n d ix C) . T ote s t t h e co n s i s t en cy o f sca l e u se an d to a s se ss t h eu t i l i z a t io n o f t h e JCQ, in 1 99 5 Ro b e r t Ka r a sekco n d u c ted a su r v ey o f a l l co n tac t ab le JCQ u se r s .F r o m th e 2 4 6 r eco r d ed r eq u es t s , 1 3 0 p r o j ec t s we r ee s t i m a t e d to h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e d b y t h a t t im e . T h em o s t co n s i s t en t ly u sed sca l e s a r e t h e d ec i s io n l a t i tu d esca l e s , w i th 85 r ep o r t in g co m p l i an ce w i th t h es t an d a r d v e r s io n . Psy ch o lo g ica l d em an d s h a s 6 9u s in g th e r eco m m en d ed n in e - q u es t io n v e r s io n an dan o th e r 1 9 u s in g th e o ld e r f i v e - q u es t io n ( QE S co r e )v e r s io n . S t an d a r d v e r s io n so c i a l su p p o r t was u sed7 4 o f t h e t i m e . H o w e v e r , p h y s i c a l d e m a n d s a r ein c lu d ed in o n ly 5 8 o f th e s tu d ie s an d jo b in secu r i tyin o n ly 3 6 o f t h e s tu d ie s . T h e sk i l l u t i l i z a t io nq u es t io n , im p o r t an t f o r wo r k q u a l i t y p o l i cy an dp r o d u c t iv i ty o u tco m es , is i n c lu d ed in 4 2 o f t h e sestud ies .

Translations Into Other LanguagesAu th o r i zed t r an s la t i o n s o f t h e f u l l JCQ in s t r u m en t

f r o m E n g l i sh , wh ich h av e b een sp ec i f i c a l ly ap p r o v e dan d wh ich a r e av a i l ab l e f r o m th e JCQ Cen te r , a r eF r e n c h - C a n a d i a n , F r e n c h - B e l g i u m , F l e m i s h - B e l -g iu m , Sp an i sh , Swed i sh , D u tch , I t a l ian , an d Jap an ese .O th e r l an g u ag e t r an s l a t i o n s a r e i n p r o cess . T h eau th o r i zed p r o cess r eq u i r e s r eq u es t in g p e r m iss io n , a

b ack t r an s l a t i o n in to E n g l i sh su b m i t t ed to t h e JCQCen te r , an d a co p y o f t h e t r an s l a t ed in s t r u m en t .

A d a p t a t i o n o f t h e J C Q f o r h o u s e w o r k a n d h o m e -r o l e wo r k , s tu d en t s t a tu s , an d u n em p lo y m en t h a s a l sob een u n d e r t ak en b u t p r e sen t s ch a l l en g es b ecau seth ese l e s s - s t r u c tu r ed so c i a l r o l e s m ean l e s s sp ec i f i cq u es t io n n a i r e lan g u ag e . Ad ap ta t io n o f t h e JCQ f o rlo w- ed u ca t io n wo r k e r s an d wo r k e r s i n l e s s eco n o m i -ca l ly d ev e lo p ed co u n t ri e s f o r Sp an i sh - sp eak in g wo r k -e r s h a s a l so b een u n d e r t ak en .

JCQ Usage PolicyT h e J C Q i s c o p y r i g h te d a n d n o t p u b l i s h e d i n t h e

p u b l i c d o m a in ; h o wev e r , i t i s t h e g o a l o f t h e JCQCen te r t o m ak e i t av a i l ab l e t o a l l r e sea r ch e r s wh or eq u es t i t w i th su b s t an t i a l su p p o r t in g d o cu m en ta t io n ,an d to p r o m o te sc i en t i f i c d ev e lo p m en t i n t h e a r eath r o u g h a u se r s ' n e two r k . T h e JC Q Qu es t io n n a i r e an dU s e r ' s G u i d e a n d r e s e a r c h d o c u m e n t a t i o n a r e p r o -v id ed f r ee o f ch a r g e to m o s t u se r s . Ho w ev e r , JCQ u seb y l a r g e r e sea r ch s tu d ie s ( o v e r 7 5 0 p a r t i c ip an t s ) an dco m m er c i a l u se r s r eq u i r e s p ay m en t o f p e r - n sech a r g es . Reg i s t r a t i o n in a JC Q u se r s ' p r o j ec t d a t ab asef o r t h e u se r s ' n e two r k f o r a l l u se r s an d a c o p y o f th er e sea r ch e r ' s JCQ an d d em o g r ap h ic d a t a f o r f u tu r er e l i ab i l i t y an a ly se s ( l a r g e s tu d ie s o n ly ) a r e r eq u i r ed .C o n t a c t t h e J C Q C e n t er , D e p a r t m e n t o f W o r kE n v i r o n m en t , Un iv e r s i t y o f Massach u se t t s L o we l l ,L o we l l , Massach u se t t s 0 1 8 5 4 , f o r d e t a i l s o f p o l i cy ,fees , and requ irements .

Summary of lnstrument Descriptionand Notes on Future ChallengesT o s u m m a r i z e des ript ion o f t h e i n s t r u m en t , we

in c lu d e a t t h i s p o in t sev e r a l co m m en t s t h a t r e f l ec tin f o r m a t io n in t h e seco n d , em p i r i ca l sec t io n o f t h i sar t icle.

1 . T h e 1 9 9 5 s tu d y o f u sag e co n s i s t en cy d em o n -s t r a t e s t h a t t h e JCQ h as p r o v id ed a co m m o n se t o fsca l e s u sed wi th co n s i s t en cy th r o u g h o u t a lm o s t 1 00s tu d ies , i n c lu d in g l a r g e n a t io n a l s tu d ie s , o f p sy ch o so -c i a l f a c to r s a t wo r k . T h i s b r ead th o f u se i s a u n iq u eo c c u r r e n c e f o r m e a s u r e m e n t o f p s y c h o s o c i a l w o r kch a r ac t e r i s t i c s i n t h e Un i t ed S ta t e s an d in t e r n a t io n -a l ly , an d i t h e lp s t o o v e r co m e th e m a jo r sc i en t i f i cd e f i c i t o f su ch in s t ru m en t s : t h e l a ck o f co m p ar a t iv easse ssm en t cap ab i l i t y ac r o ss d a t ab ase s ( see d i scu s -s ion in San te r & Murph y , 1995) .

2 . As a r e su l t o f t h e em p i r i ca l r ev i ew in t h ef o l lo win g sec t io n ( Pa r t I I o f t h i s a r t i c l e ) , t h e JCQ


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332 KARASEK ET AL.r eco m m en d ed v e r s io n s in ce 1 9 8 5 ( an d p r o v i s io n a l lyau g m en ted in 1 9 95 ) r em a in s t h e r eco m m e n d edv e r s i o n . T h e n e ed t o e x p a n d f r o m t h e e a r l ie r Q E Sco r e q u es t io n s i s v a l id a t ed . I n p a r ti cu l a r , so m e o fth e se ad d i t i o n s a r e c r u c i a l f o r co n t in u ed p sy ch o so c ia lr e sea r ch : Jo b in secu r i ty i s o f i n c r ea s in g im p o r t an ceb ecau se o f t h e g lo b a l e co n o m y , an d th e p h y s i ca ld em a n d sca l e i s o f i n c r ea s in g im p o r t an ce b ecau se o fth e in c r ea s in g p r ev a len ce o f m u scu lo sk e le t a l d i so r -d e r s i n m an y co u n tr i e s . T h e sk i l l l ev e l r eq u i r edq u es t io n s ( t h e sev en th sk i l l d i sc r e t io n q u es t io n ) i sc r u c i a l f o r w o r k - q u a l i t y p o l i cy d i scu ss io n s .

T h e p r ed ic t iv e v a l id i ty o f t h e sca l e s , wh i l e n o tr ev i ewe d in d e t a i l in t h i s a r t i c l e , i s p r o b ab ly th e m a jo rr ea so n f o r t h e su ccess o f t h e i n s t r u m en t . I n g en e r a l , i tc an b e co n c lu d ed th a t t h e JCQ seem s to b e p o ten t i a l l yu se f u l i n cap tu r in g im p o r t an t e l em en t s o f p sy ch o so -c i a l ex p e r i en ce a t wo r k in m an y co u n t r i e s , an d th u sa l lo ws an in t e r n a t io n a l ly co m p ar a t iv e u n d e r s t an d in go f q u a l i ta t i v e c o s t s a n d b e n e f it s o f w o r k .

On th e b a s i s o f t h e f i n d in g s o f t h e an a ly s i s o f 1 2sep a r a t e m a le an d f em a le p o p u la t io n s , we can f in d n oco m p e l l i n g r ea so n s to r e j ec t t h e JCQ sca l e s o n th eb as i s o f i n co n s i s t en cy o f m ean s an d s t an d a r dd ev ia t io n s o r C r o n b ach a lp h a r e l i ab i l i ty . Ho w ev e r ,f ac to r an a ly se s r e su l ts n o ted ab o v e d o r a i se q u es t io n sab o u t i n c lu s io n o f c e r t a in q u es t io n s , a p o ten t i a l b a s i sf o r f u tu r e r ev i s io n o f t h e JCQ sca l e s .

A l th o u g h so m e o f t h e t ab l e s i n t h e em p i r i ca lr e l i ab i l i t y t e s t ( Pa r t I I o f t h i s a r t i c l e ) a r e b a sed o nr e s t r i c t ed f o r m s o f so m e sca l e s i n o r d e r t o en su r eco m p a t ib i l i t y w i th se v e r a l o ld e r d a t ab ase s , t h e l a r g es to f t h e n ew s tu d ie s n o w b e in g co l l ec t ed in E u r o p e an dJap an in c lu d e a lm o s t co m p le t e v e r s io n s o f a l l o f th er eco m m en d ed JCQ sca l e s , wh ich f u r th e r b o l s t e r s t h eu t i l i ty o f us ing the fu l l sc a les in the fu tu re .

3 . A l th o u g h an in t eg r a t ed r ev i ew o f t h e JCQ sca l e ' ssh o r t co m in g s an d f u tu r e im p r o v em en t d i r ec t io n s i sb ey o n d th e sco p e o f t h i s a r t i c l e , so m e p r e l im in a r yo b se r v a t io n s ab o u t f u tu r e ch a l l en g es f o r t h e JCQ canb e m ad e , r e f l ec t in g b o th th i s a r t i c l e an d th e cu r r en tso c i a l co n tex t o f r ap id ly ch an g in g w o r k in g co n d i t i o n s .

a . T h e a r ea o f wo rk qu lity n eed s to b e o p en edu p to i n t e r n a t io n a l p o l i t i c a l an d eco n o m ic p o l i cyd i scu ss io n s , an im p o r t an t ch a l len g e g iv en th e acce l e r a -t i o n o f g lo b a l e co n o m ic l i n k ag es . JCQ ex p an s io n s ,s u c h a s t h e p i l o t ve r s io n s o f t h e J C Q g l o b a l e c o n o m ysca le s , co u ld a ss i s t t h i s . Asse ssm en t o f so c i a l lyd e t e r m in ed p o ss ib i l i t i e s f o r co n t r o l , d em an d , an dso c ia l i n t eg r a t io n d e r iv in g f r o m b r o ad g lo b a l e co -n o m ic ch an g es co u ld b e a sse ssed .

b . Fo r p sy ch o lo g ica l wo r k lo a d an d so c i a lsu p p o r t , im p r o v ed sca l e p e r f o r m an ce m ay r eq u i r el in g u i s t i c t o o l d ev e lo p m en t an d lo ca l co n sen su a lv a l id a t io n o f re sp o n se m ean in g s . Ad d i t i o n a l m easu r e -m en t m e th o d s b ey o n d q u es t io n n a i r e u se i n v o lv in go b se r v a t io n s o r in t e r v i ew m e th o d s th a t c an b e l i n k edto th e JCQ a r e a l so n eed ed . Pa r t s o f t h e se ac t iv it i e sm ay in v o lv e e s t ab l i sh in g n ew l an g u ag es f o r so c i a lp o l i cy p u r p o se in t h e se a r ea s - - - a so c i a l ad v o cacy t a sk .

c . Dr o p o u t o f h ig h ly s t r e s se d p a r t i c ip an t sf r o m s tu d ies , e sp ec i a l ly i n m o r e r ig o r o u s sc i en t i fi cp r o to co l s , ap p ea r s t o b e a m u ch l a r g e r p r o b lem th anp r ev io u s ly a ssu m ed an d i s g r o win g a s s t r e s se s o fm o d e r n l i f e m ak e p a r t i c ip a t io n in sc i en t if i c s tu d ie sd i f f icu l t f o r c e r t a in g r o u p s ( t em p o r a r y an d t r an s i t io n a lem p lo y ees , m a r g in a l e co n o m ic g r o u p s in a l l s e t t i ng s ,a n d m a n y p o p u l a t i o n s o u t s i d e o f t h e d e v e l o p e dindust r ia l countr ies) .

d . O r g an iza t io n - l ev e l j o b f ac to r s a r e a l so n o ts tu d ied in t h e JCQ, an d th e i r e ff ec t s o n d e t e r m in in gjo b s t ruc tures a ppe ar to be s ign i f ican t (Warren , 1998) .W h e th e r t h i s an a ly s i s n eed s to b e a p a r t o f anex p an d ed JCQ o r sep a r a t e m easu r em en t s ap p r o ach ,su ch to p ic s sh o u ld b e e x p lo r ed f o r f u r th e r co m p ar a -t i v e an a ly se s .

e . New wo r k p a t t e r n s t h a t i n v o lv e co m p u te r -b ased co m m u n ica t io n , n e two r k co m m u n ica t io n , an dm a s s - m e d i a c o m m u n i c a ti o n s e r v e a s th e m o d e o fso c i a l co o r d in a t io n in ev e r l a r g e r n u m b er s o f so c i a lac t iv i ti e s . T h ese m a y r eq u i r e s ig n i f i c an t ly a l t e r edm e t h o d o l o g i e s f o r a s s e s s i n g p s y c h o s o c i a l w o r kex p e r i en ce .

f . Qu an t i t a t i v e wo r k a sp ec t s o f wo r k ( p a r t i cu -l a r ly h o u r s o f wo r k , sp o u se w o r k t im e , i n co m e , e t c . )c e r t a in l y n e e d n o p r o o f o f i m p o r t a n c e b u t s h o u l d b es im u l t an eo u s ly g a th e r ed an d u sed a lo n g w i th JCQasse ssm en t s wh e n b r o a d p o l i cy im p l i ca t io n s a r e t o b eunders tood .

g . Psy ch o so c ia l ex p e r i en ces o u t s id e o f wo r k inth e h o m e an d co m m u n i ty , an d ac r o ss t h e l i f e sp an( jo in t ly w i th w o r k ex p e r i en ce ) m u s t b e m ad e a p a r t o fp sy ch o so c ia l an a ly t i c f r am ewo r k s ev en wh en wo r k -p lace e f f ec ts a r e t h e p r im ar y sc i en t if i c f o cu s .

h . T h e c r ea t iv e b eh av io r s id e o f p sy ch o so c ia lwo r k p lace b eh av io r n eed s to b e g iv en f u r th e rm easu r em en t em p h as i s , i n c lu d in g so c i a l in t e r ac t io n swh ich m ak e i t p o ss ib l e . T o s t a r t , m o r e a t t en t io nsh o u ld b e p a id to ex i s t i n g ctive job h y p o th ese s t ofac i l i ta te fu r ther in tegra t ion wi th the ctive copingh ea l th an d we l l - b e in g r e sea r ch th em es o f p sy ch o so -c i a l r e sea r ch . T h i s ex t en s io n wo u ld a l so a l l o w n ew


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SPECIAL SECTION: JOB CONTENT QUESTIONNAIRE 333f o r m s o f n o n m ar k e t p r o d u c t iv e o u tp u t t o b e b e t t e ra sse ssed , an d wo u ld a ss i s t co m p r eh en s iv e d i a lo g u eab o u t co s t s an d b en e f i t s o f t h e n ew w o r k o rg an iza -t i o n . C o n d u c i v e e c o n o m i c p o l i c y c o u l d s e r v e a so n e b as i s f o r th i s ex p an s io n ( Ka r a sek , 1 9 98 ; K a r a sek& T heore l l , 1990).

i . M o d i f ie d a s s e s s m e n t m e t h o d s f o r p s y c h o s o -c i a l w o r k i n g c o n d i ti o n s i n l e s s - d e v e l o p e d e c o n o m i e sm u s t a l so b e in t eg r a t ed w i th ex i s t i n g JCQ sca l e su s a g e , w h i c h h a s p r i m a r i l y f o c u s e d o n d e v e l o p e dco u n t r i e s . T h ese m u s t a s se ss t h e r e l a t i o n sh ip b e twee np sy ch o so c ia l wo r k co s t s an d b en e f i t s an d m o r ec o n v e n t i o n a l e c o n o m i c r e w a r d s a n d d e m o g r a p h i ct r an s f o r m a t io n s .

P A R T 1 I

I n t e rn a t i o na l C o m p a r i s o n o f th e J C QS c a l e s i n F o u r C o u n t r i e s

ationaleT r en d s in wo r k in g co n d i t i o n s sh o w in c r ea se d ri sk s

to we l l - b e in g a r i s in g f r o m so c ia l an d p sy ch o lo g ica lch a r ac t e r i s t i c s o f wo r k in E u r o p e an d Jap an inrepo r ted na t ional s ta t i s t ics (Dho ndt , 1994, 1998;Pao l i , 1 9 9 7 ; Sh im o m i tzu & L ev i , 1 9 9 2 ) . Av a i l ab l ean ecd o ta l r ep o r t s i n t h e Un i t ed S ta t e s i n t h e 1 9 9 0 sa l so su g g es t g r o win g p r o b lem s o f wo r k - r e l a t e .dp r e ssu r e s . Co m p ar a t iv e a sse ssm en t o f t h e se p sy ch o so -c i a l ex p o su r e s b e tween co u n t r i e s i n t h e g lo b a le c o n o m y c o u l d o p e n u p th e a r e a o f w o r k q u a l it y t oin t e r n a t io n a l p o l i t i c a l an d eco n o m ic p o l i cy d i scu s -s io n s . Ho wev e r , s ig n i f i c an t p r o g r e ss r eq u i r e s i n t e r n a -t i o n a l co m p ar i so n s w i th s t an d a r d ized in s t r u m en t s - - a na r ea in wh ich p r o g r e ss h a s so f a r b een s l i g h t . T h ein t e r n a t io n a l co m p ar i so n s wo u ld a l so p r o v id e anim p o r t an t r e f e ren ce s t an d a r d f o r m an y h o m o g en eo u sp o p u la t io n s tu d ie s . T h ese ch a l l en g es m o t iv a t e t h ep r e sen t i n v es t ig a t io n .

M o s t i n t e r n a ti o n a l c o m p a r a t iv e a n a l y s e s o f w o r kf o cu s o n eco n o m ic o u tco m es . I t i s we l l k n o wn th a tth e r e a r e n a t io n a l d i f f e r en ces i n t h e d i s t r i b u t io n o fin co m e , w i th g r ea t e r d i sp a r i t i e s ( i .e . , h ig h e r s t an d a r dd ev ia t io n s ) o ccu r r in g in t h e Un i t ed S ta t e s b e tweenh ig h an d lo w in co m es th an in Can ad a , E u r o p e , o rJap an . Fu r th e r m o r e , t h e se d i sp a r i t i e s h av e in c r ea s edin r ecen t y ea r s i n t h e U n i t ed S ta t e s .S im i l a r d i f f e ren ces m ig h t b e ex p ec ted f o r p sy ch o -s o c i a l j o b c h a r ac t e ri s ti c s . F o r e x a m p l e , O r t h - G o m e r( 1 9 7 9 ) r ep o r t ed s im i l a r a s so c i a t io n s b e tween s t r e s s

a n d h e a r t d i s e a s e i n U . S . a n d S w e d i s h s a m p l e s b u tf o u n d d i f f e ren t r e t r o sp ec t iv e ly r ep o r t ed r a t i n g s f o rwo r k an d f am i ly s tr e s so r s i n t h e two co u n t r i e s ( w i thwo r k b e in g l e s s im p o r t an t i n th e U n i t ed S ta t e s ). Kas l( 1 9 9 6 ) sp ecu la t ed th a t t h e t o l l o f u n em p lo y m en t an dth e n a tu r e o f w o r k in g en e r a l is l e s s im p o r t an t fo r U .S .wo r k e r s t h an f o r E u r o p ean wo r k e r s . Ho wev e r , t h i sh as n o t b een t e s t ed w i th d i r ec t em p i r i ca l d a t a o nin d iv id u a l wo r k s i t u a t io n s i n b r o ad ly r ep r e sen ta t iv ep o p u la t io n s .

Ad d i t i o n a l ly , t h e r e h a s b een m u ch d i scu ss io n o fin t e r n a t io n a l d i f f e r en ces in wo r k o r g an iza t io n a l cu l -tu r e s , a s wh en Jap an ese ju s t - i n - t im e a ssem b ly m e th -o d s we r e in t r o d u ced in to t h e Un i t ed S ta t e s an dE u r o p e ( Be r g g r en , 1 9 92 ). On e em p i r i ca l i n v es t ig a -t i o n o f w o r k o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d c o m p a n y p o l i c i e sac r o ss sev en au to m o b i l e m an u f ac tu r e r s i n f o u rco u n t r i e s sh o ws th a t t e am wo r k i s v e r y d i f f e r en t lyu n d e r s to o d d u e to n a t io n a l ( Jap an ese , F r en ch , I t a l ian ,an d Ger m an ) d i f f e r en ces , r eg io n a l , an d co m p an ycu l tu r e ( F r i e l i n g , F r e ib o th , Hen n ig es , & Saag e r ,1 9 97 ), a l t h o u g h th e r e l a t i v e m ag n i tu d e o f i n t e r co m -p a r ty v e r su s i n t e r co u n t r y so u r ce s was n o t a s se ssed .

So m e u se f u l i n t e r n a t io n a l ly co m p ar a t iv e f i n d in g sex i s t f o r sca l e s v e r y s im i l a r t o t h e JCQ. T y p ica l o fth e se f i n d in g s a r e U .S . , Sw ed i sh , an d Jap an ese s tu d ie swh ich sh o w th a t t h e r an k in g o f o ccu p a t io n s o nd ec i s io n l a t i t u d e sca l e s i s v e r y s im i l a r in t h e U n i t edS ta t e s , Jap an , an d Swed en ( see Ap p en d ix B) .Un f o r tu n a te ly , t h e u t i l i t y o f m an y s tu d ie s t h a t a r ep o ten t i a l l y s im i l a r i s l im i t ed b y l ack o f t r u lyco m p ar ab le sca l e s i n each s tu d y . In g en e r a l , ab so lu t esca l e sco r e s a r e im p o r t an t f o r JCQ r e sea r ch b ecau seth ey a l lo w co m p ar a t iv e an a ly s i s o f n a t io n a l an do ccu p a t io n a l d i f f e r en ces an d f ac i l i t a t e co m p ar a t iv ef o r m u la t io n o f so m e jo b s tr a in d e f in it i o n s . A l so ,a l t h o u g h v a l id a t io n s tu d ie s f o r t h e JCQ sca l e s h av eb een p u b l i sh ed f o r so m e p o p u la t io n s , t h e c r o ss -n a t io n a l v a l id i ty o f t h e JCQ h as n o t b een sy s t em a t i -ca l ly a s se ssed . Ne i th e r h a s t h e co m p ar a t iv e r e l i ab i l i tyan d v a l id i ty o f t h e JCQ sca l e s b een t e s t ed sep a r a t e lyf o r m a le an d f em a le wo r k e r s . Ha l l ( 1 9 9 4 ) a r g u ed f o rt h e i m p o r t a n c e o f e x a m i n i n g w o m e n ' s j o b c h a r a ct e r-i s t i c s sep a r a te ly . In t e r n a t io n a l co m p ar i so n s o f p o ten -t i a l g en d e r d i f f e ren ces co u ld b e u se f u l b ecau se f em a lel ab o r p a r t i c ip a t io n p a t t e r n s v a r y s ig n i f i c an tly b yCOuntry

F r o m a p s y c h o m e t r ic p e r s p e c ti v e , t h e p r o c e s s o fsca l e v a l id a t io n wi l l o f t en ex am in e sca l e r e l i ab i l i t ys t a t i s t i c s a c r o ss m u l t ip l e p o p u la t io n s , w i th t h ep r e su m p t io n th a t t h e sca l e sh o u ld p e r f o r m in a s im i l a rm an n e r ac r o ss p o p u la t io n s . D i f f e r en ces b e tween th e


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3 3 4 K A R A S E K E T A L .

p o p u l a t i o n s t h e m s e l v e s a r e n o t t h e f o c u s . H o w e v e r ,f r o m a s o c i o l o g i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e p o p u l a t i o nd i f f e r e n c e s o r s i m i l a r i ti e s a r e o f i n t e r e s t. W e w i l l a l s of o l lo w p s y c h o m e t r i c t r a d it i o n a n d a s s e s s t h e c o n s i s -t e n c y o f th e s c a l e p e r f o r m a n c e a c r o s s p o p u l a t i o n s . I nt h e c a s e o f j o b c h a r a ct e ri s ti c s , th e m o s t c o m m o ns o c i o lo g i c a l h y p o t h e s i s w o u l d b e t h a t m a j o r n a t i o n a ld i f f e r e n c e s d o e x i s t i n s c a l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , b e c a u s et h e J C Q r e f l e c t s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h em a j o r s o c i a l in s t i tu t i o n a l f r a m e w o r k o f m o d e ms o c i e t i e s - - f r a m e w o r k s t h a t h a v e b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e dt o d i f fe r b e t w e e n c o u n t r i e s f r o m m a n y p e r s p e c ti v e s .

O b j e c t i v e sT h e m a i n o b j e c t iv e o f th e s t u d y is t o c o m p a r e m e a n

v a l u e s , r e l i a b i l i t y , a n d v a l i d i t y o f t h e J C Q s c a l e sa c r o s s s i x s t u d i e s c o n d u c t e d i n f o u r d i f f e r e n tc o u n t r i e s . C o m p l e m e n t a r y o b j e c t i v e s a r e (a ) t o a s s e s st h e e x t e n t o f s i m i l a r i ti e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s f o u n d u n d e rr e l a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t n a t i o n a l c o n t e x t s ( t h e U n i t e dS t a te s , Q u e b e c - C a n a d a , t h e N e t h e r l a n d s , a n d J a p a n ) ;( b ) to a s s e s s p o t e n t i a l d i f f e r e n c e s b y g e n d e r ; a n d ( c )t o c o m p a r e t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s t o p u b l i s h e d f i n d i n g sa b o u t s c a le d i f f e r e n c e s d u e t o o c c u p a t i o n .

M e t h o dP o p u l a t i o n s

T he s ix popu la t i ons s tud i ed com e f rom the U ni t ed S t a te s(2) , Canada-Quebec (2) , the Nether lands, and Japan (seeTable 2) . The number of par t ic ipants in each study rangedfrom 580 to 6 ,053 fo r a to ta l of 16,60 1 par t ic ipants (38wom en and 62 m en) . T he pa rt i c ipa t i on r a t es r anged f rom65 to 93 (see Table 2) . The age boun dar ies span the ful ladul t working l i fe , age 20 to 65 ( re t i rement age) , but theJapanese sam ple ' s age span i s f rom age 20 t o 60 . Pa r t - tim eworke r s a re i nc luded i f work t im e i s g rea t e r t han 20 h r /weekexcep t fo r t he two Canad ian sam ple s, wh ich i nc lude on lyfull-t im e wo rkers (->35 hr/week).T wo popu la t i ons i nc lude t he fu l l occupa tiona l spec t ru m - -ma nag ers and professionals, clericals, l in e workers in white -and blue- colla r occupations, an d services workers----basedon random sam ple s o f t he i r geograph ica l l oca t i on work-forces: (a ) the U:S. QES samples f rom the 1970s ( threesepara te na t ional samples combined; see Karasek &Theore l l, 1990, Ap pendix 1) and (b) the Quebec provincestratified ran do m (Sante-Quebec, 1994) sample from 1990.Three other samples are broadly inc lusive of the ful loccupat ional spec t rum from manager to l ine worker : them ore r ecen t U.S . New E ng land Medica l Cen te r (NE MC)sample , the Dutch sample , and the Japanese sample . TheU.S. NEMC data inc lude representa t ive samples f rom a l lstatus levels in 16 large U.S. workplaces in sevencorporations (full samples o f 12 mid dle-s ized workplaces

T a b l e 2Population D efinition fo r the StudiesPart ic ipantS tudy coun t ry Da te N ins t rum en t Popu la t i on t ype

U.S . QE S 1970s 4 ,319 73 QE S/ JCQ Na t iona l r andom popu la t i on sam pleM = 2841F = 1478U.S. NE M C 1994 6,053 71 Ba se JC Q (modified) a Bro adly representative: 16 largeem ploye r s , b lue and whi t e co l l a rM = 3676F = 23771990 1,232 77 Prov incial , stratified ran do mM = 707 popu la t i on sam pleF = 5251994 2,666 73e Regional, 8 com paniesM = 1364 65aF = 13021994 1,751 86 Broadly representa t ive : 34 comp a-M = 1228 hies, b lue and wh i te col la r ( l imi tedF = 523 job mob i l i ty /var ie ty)1993 580 93 2 com pan ie s , b lue and whi t e co l l a rM = 4 7 2F = 108

Canada -Quebec Fu l l JCQ (m inus)b

Canada -Quebec -whi t e Fu l l JCQ (m inus)bco l l a r on lyNe the r l ands Fu l l JCQ

Japan Fu l l JCQ m i n u s )b

Note QE S = Qua l i ty o f E m p loym en t Surveys ; JCQ = Job Con ten t Quest ionnai re ; NE M C = New E ng land Medica lCenter ; M = male ; F = female .a Som e signl f icandy di f ferent sca les.b Minus some sca les. Par t ic ipa t ion for the ful l popu la t ion who comp le ted the psycholog ica l demand s and de cision la t i tude sca les.d Par t ic ipa t ion for the popula t ion w ho co mple ted a lso the soc ia l support sca les.


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S P E C I A L S E C T IO N : J O B C O N T E N T Q U E S T I O N N A I R E 3 35

a n d r a n d o m s a m p l e s o f 4 v e r y l a r g e w o r k p l a c e s , r e p r e s e n t a -t i v e o f t h e U . S . w o r k f o r c e i n m a n y r e s p e c t s ) b u t o m i tw o r k e r s i n s m a l l e r c o m p a n i e s , a l e s s e r f r a c t i o n o f t h ew o r k f o r c e . T h e D u t c h s a m p l e i n c l u d e s w h i t e - a n d b l u e -c o l l a r w o r k e r s f r o m 3 4 c o m p a n i e s , a c r o s s a r a n g e o fc o m p a n y s i z e s a n d i n d u s t r y b r a n c h e s . I t d e v i a t e s f r o mr a n d o m s e l e c t i o n i n t h a t o n l y w o r k e r s w i t h r e l a t i v e ly f i x e dw o r k l o c a t i o n s a n d a l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f t a s k s w e r e s e l e c t e dt o f a c i l i ta t e p h y s i c a l e r g o n o m i c j o b a s s e s s m e n t s ( h o w e v e r ,t h i s d o e s n o t e x c l u d e p r o f e s s i o n a l s s u c h a s t e a c h e r s , n u r s e s ,a n d s o m e m a n a g e r s ) . T h e J a p a n e s e s a m p l e ( H a r a t a ni e t a l . ,1 99 7) i n c l u d e s w h i t e - a n d b l u e - c o l l a r w o r k e r s f r o m t w oc o m p a n i e s w i t h f a i r l y t e c h n i c a l l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d o u t p u t( teleco mm unica t ions and powe r u t il ity ). The s ix th sample, thesecon d Canadian database f rom Q uebec, i s conapesed of on lywhi te-co l lm workers e mp loyed in eight w hi te-co llar organiza-tions eng age d in semipublic, public, or private s ervice activit ies.

InstrumentO u r i n t e n t w a s t o u s e t h e fu l l r e c o m m e n d e d J C Q s c a l e s( K a r a s e k , 1 9 8 5) . H o w e v e r , s o m e q u e s t i o n s w e r e m i s s i n g ins o m e o f t h e o ld e r s t u d ie s . T h e r e f o r e , t h e l o w e s t c o m m o nd e n o m i n a t o r o f q u e s t i o n s w a s f o u n d to m a x i m i z e c o m p a r a -t i v e p o ss ib i l i t i e s . Fo r p sy ch o lo g i ca l d em an d s , t h e f i v e -q u e s t i o n Q E S v e r s i o n i s u s e d , b e c a u s e t h e f u l l n i n e - q u e s t io nv e r s i o n w a s o n l y a v a i l a b l e i n f o u r o f t h e s t u d i e s ( f o r a l lco r re l a t i o n s , sep ara t e t ab u l a t i o n s h av e b een m ad e fo r t h e fu l ln i n e - q u e s t i o n s v e r s i o n ) . F o r t h e p h y s i c a l d e m a n d s s c a l e ,a l t h o u g h f i v e o f t h e s t u d i e s h a d t h e o n e - q u e s t i o n v e r s i o n ,o n l y t h e r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t D u t c h s a m p l e h a d t h e f u l l

r e c o m m e n d e d f i v e - q u e s t i o n s c a l e , a n d t h u s , m o s t t a b u l a -t i o n s a r e b a s e d o n t h e o n e - q u e s t i o n v e r s i o n . O n l y t h eCan a d ian sa m p le h ad t h e f i v e -q u e s t i o n so c i a l su p p o r t sca l e ,b u t a l l o f t h e o t h e r s a m p l e s h a d a Q E S - b a s e d f o u r - q u e s t io nv e r s i o n , w h i c h i s u s e d i n t h e t a b l e s . N o s t u d y h a d t h e f u l ls i x -q u es t i o n o b i n secu r i t y sca l e , t h u s a sp ec i a l two -q u es t i o nv er s io n o f t h e sca l e , av a i l ab l e i n t h ree s t u d i es (U.S . QES ;U . S . N E M C ; a n d t h e N e t h e r la n d s ) , w a s c o m p u t e d o n l y fo rt

job content q johp 1998

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