Job Overload Scale
Measures an employee's perceptions of quantitative job overload, focusing on the perceived pace and amount of work.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Job Overload Scale was developed by Caplan, R. D., Cobb, S., French, J. R. P., Van Harrison, R., & Pinneau, S. R. (1980). It is designed to measure Quantitative Job Overload. The scale is intended for use with Employees / Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 11 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Rarely / Hardly any, 2 = Occasionally / A little, 3 = Sometimes / Some, 4 = Fairly often / A lot, 5 = Very often / A great deal.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 11 to 55. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Overload: 11 – 25
- Moderate Overload: 26 – 40
- High Overload: 41 – 55
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranged from .72 to .81.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.