Job Diagnostic Survey – JDS
Measures overall and facet-specific job satisfaction, including general satisfaction, internal work motivation, growth satisfaction, and satisfaction with job facets.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Job Diagnostic Survey – JDS was developed by J. Richard Hackman, Greg R. Oldham (1974). It is designed to measure Job satisfaction and work motivation. The scale is intended for use with Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 25 items organized into 7 factors/subscales: General Satisfaction, Internal Work Motivation, Growth Satisfaction, Security Satisfaction, Compensation Satisfaction, Social Satisfaction, Supervisory Satisfaction.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| General Satisfaction | 1,2,3,4,5 | 5 |
| Internal Work Motivation | 6,7,8,9,10,11 | 6 |
| Growth Satisfaction | 12,13,14,15 | 4 |
| Security Satisfaction | 16,17 | 2 |
| Compensation Satisfaction | 18,19 | 2 |
| Social Satisfaction | 20,21,22 | 3 |
| Supervisory Satisfaction | 23,24,25 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Disagree strongly / Extremely dissatisfied, 2 = Disagree / Dissatisfied, 3 = Disagree slightly / Slightly dissatisfied, 4 = Neutral, 5 = Agree slightly / Slightly satisfied, 6 = Agree / Satisfied, 7 = Agree strongly / Extremely satisfied.
The scale includes 3 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 25 to 175. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Job Satisfaction/Motivation: 25 – 75
- Moderate Job Satisfaction/Motivation: 76 – 125
- High Job Satisfaction/Motivation: 126 – 175
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Alpha ranges from .55 to .92 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.