Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire- second version (COPSOQ II)

Demands at work
Quantitative demands (alpha .82)
·         QD1 Is your workload unevenly distributed so it piles up? a +
·         QD2 How often do you not have time to complete all your work tasks? a +
·         QD3 Do you get behind with your work? a +*
·         QD4 Do you have enough time for your work tasks? b +*
Work pace (alpha .84)
·         WP1 Do you have to work very fast? a +
·         WP2 Do you work at a high pace throughout the day? c +*
·         WP3 Is it necessary to keep working at a high pace? c +*
Cognitive demands (alpha .74)
·         CD1 Do you have to keep your eyes on lots of things while you work? a
·         CD2 Does your work require that you remember a lot of things? a
·         CD3 Does your work demand that you are good at coming up with new ideas? a
·         CD4 Does your work require you to make difficult decisions? a
Emotional demands (alpha .87)
·         ED1 Does your work put you in emotionally disturbing situations? a +*
·         ED2 Do you have to relate to other people’s personal problems as part of your work? a +
·         ED3 Is your work emotionally demanding? c +
·         ED4 Do you get emotionally involved in your work? c +
Demands for hiding emotions (alpha .57)
·         HE1 Are you required to treat everyone equally‚ even if you do not feel like it? a
·         HE2 Does your work require that you hide your feelings? c
·         HE3 Are you required to be kind and open towards everyone – regardless of how they behave towards you? c
Work organization and job contents
Influence at work: (alpha .73)
·         IN1 Do you have a large degree of influence concerning your work? a +
·         IN2 Do you have a say in choosing who you work with? a +
·         IN3 Can you influence the amount of work assigned to you? a +*
·         IN4 Do you have any influence on what you do at work? a +
Possibilities for development (skill discretion) (alpha .77)
·         PD1 Does your work require you to take the initiative? c +*
·         PD2 Do you have the possibility of learning new things through your work? c +*
·         PD3 Can you use your skills or expertise in your work? c +
·         PD4 Does your work give you the opportunity to develop your skills? c +
Variation of work: (alpha .5)
·         VA1 Is your work varied? a
·         VA2 Do you have to do the same thing over and over again? b
Meaning of work (alpha .74)
·         MW1 Is your work meaningful? c +*
·         MW2 Do you feel that the work you do is important? c +*
·         MW3 Do you feel motivated and involved in your work? c +
Commitment to the workplace (alpha .77)
·         CW1 Do you enjoy telling others about your place of work? c +
·         CW2 Do you feel that your place of work is of great importance to you? c +*
·         CW3 Would you recommend a good friend to apply for a position at your workplace? c +*
·         CW4 How often do you consider looking for work elsewhere? b +
Interpersonal relations and leadership
Predictability (alpha .74)
·         PR1 At your place of work‚ are you informed well in advance concerning for example important decisions‚ changes‚ or plans for the future? c +*
·         PR2 Do you receive all the information you need in order to do your work well? c +*
Recognition (Rewards) (alpha .83)
·         RE1 Is your work recognised and appreciated by the management? c +*
·         RE2 Does the management at your workplace respect you? c +
·         RE3 Are you treated fairly at your workplace? c +*
Role clarity (alpha .78)
·         CL1 Does your work have clear objectives? c +*
·         CL2 Do you know exactly which areas are your responsibility? c +
·         CL3 Do you know exactly what is expected of you at work? c +*
Role conflicts (alpha .67)
·         CO1 Do you do things at work‚ which are accepted by some people but not by others? c +
·         CO2 Are contradictory demands placed on you at work? c +
·         CO3 Do you sometimes have to do things which ought to have been done in a different way? c +
·         CO4 Do you sometimes have to do things which seem to be unnecessary? c +
Quality of leadership (alpha .89)
To what extent would you say that your immediate superior:
·         QL1 – makes sure that the individual member of staff has good development opportunities? c +
·         QL2 – gives high priority to job satisfaction? c +*
·         QL3 – is good at work planning? c +*
·         QL4 – is good at solving conflicts? c +
Social support from colleagues (alpha .7)
·         SC1 How often do you get help and support from your colleagues? d +
·         SC2 How often are your colleagues willing to listen to your problems at work? d +
·         SC3 How often do your colleagues talk with you about how well you carry out your work? d +
Social support from supervisors* (alpha .79)
·         SS1 How often is your nearest superior willing to listen to your problems at work? a +*
·         SS2 How often do you get help and support from your nearest superior? a +*
·         SS3 How often does your nearest superior talk with you about how well you carry out your work? a +
Social community at work (alpha .86)
·         SW1 Is there a good atmosphere between you and your colleagues? a +
·         SW2 Is there good co-operation between the colleagues at work? a +
·         SW3 Do you feel part of a community at your place of work? a +
*These questions were only addressed to respondents who were not supervisors themselves and who had a supervisor
Work-individual interface
Job insecurity (alpha .77)
·         JI1 Are you worried about becoming unemployed? c
·         JI2 Are you worried about new technology making you redundant? c
·         JI3 Are you worried about it being difficult for you to find another job if you became unemployed? c
·         JI4 Are you worried about being transferred to another job against your will? c
Job satisfaction: Regarding your work in general. How pleased are you with: (alpha .82)
·         JS1 – your work prospects? e +
·         JS2 – the physical working conditions? e +
·         JS3 – the way your abilities are used? e +
·         JS4 – your job as a whole‚ everything taken into consideration? e +*
Work–family conflict (alpha .8)
·         WF1 Do you often feel a conflict between your work and your private life‚ making you want to be in both places at the same time? f +
The next three questions concern the ways in which your work affects your private life:
·         WF2 Do you feel that your work drains so much of your energy that it has a negative effect on your private life? g +*
·         WF3 Do you feel that your work takes so much of your time that it has a negative effect on your private life? g +*
·         WF4 Do your friends or family tell you that you work too much? g +
Family–work conflict (alpha .79)
The next two questions concern the ways in which your private life affects your work:
·         FW1 Do you feel that your private life takes so much of your energy that it has a negative effect on your work? g
·         FW2 Do you feel that your private life takes so much of your time that it has a negative effect on your work? g
Values at the workplace
The next questions are not about your own job but about the workplace as a whole
Mutual trust between employees [horizontal trust] (alpha .77)
·         TE1 Do the employees withhold information from each other? h +
·         TE2 Do the employees withhold information from the management? h +
·         TE3 Do the employees in general trust each other? c +
Trust regarding management [vertical trust] (alpha .8)
·         TM1 Does the management trust the employees to do their work well? c +*
·         TM2 Can you trust the information that comes from the management? c +*
·         TM3 Does the management withhold important information from the employees? h +
·         TM4 Are the employees able to express their views and feelings? c +
Justice [and respect] (alpha .83)
·         JU1 Are conflicts resolved in a fair way? c +*
·         JU2 Are employees appreciated when they have done a good job? c +
·         JU3 Are all suggestions from employees treated seriously by the management? c +
·         JU4 Is the work distributed fairly? c +*
Social inclusiveness (alpha .63)
·         SI1 Are men and women treated equally at your workplace? c
·         SI2 Is there space for employees of a different race and religion? c
·         SI3 Is there space for elderly employees? c
·         SI4 Is there space for employees with various illnesses or disabilities? c
Health and well-being
General health perception
·         GH1 In general‚ would you say your health is: (Excellent‚ Very good‚ Good‚ Fair‚ Poor) i*
These questions are about how you have been during the last 4 weeks.
Sleeping troubles (alpha .86)
·         SL1 How often have you slept badly and restlessly? j +
·         SL2 How often have you found it hard to go to sleep? j +
·         SL3 How often have you woken up too early and not been able to get back to sleep? j +
·         SL4 How often have you woken up several times and found it difficult to get back to sleep? j +
Burnout (alpha .83)
·         BO1 How often have you felt worn out? j +*
·         BO2 How often have you been physically exhausted? j +
·         BO3 How often have you been emotionally exhausted? j +*
·         BO4 How often have you felt tired? J +
Stress (alpha .81)
·         ST1 How often have you had problems relaxing? j +
·         ST2 How often have you been irritable? j +*
·         ST3 How often have you been tense? j +
·         ST4 How often have you been stressed? j +*
Depressive symptoms (alpha .78)
·         DS1 How often have you felt sad? j
·         DS2 How often have you lacked self-confidence? j
·         DS3 How often have you had a bad conscience or felt guilty? j
·         DS4 How often have you lacked interest in everyday things? j
Somatic stress (alpha .68)
·         SO1 How often have you had stomach ache? j
·         SO2 How often have you had a headache? j
·         SO3 How often have you had palpitations? j
·         SO4 How often have you had tension in various muscles? j
Cognitive stress (alpha .83)
·         CS1 How often have you had problems concentrating? j
·         CS2 How often have you found it difficult to think clearly? j
·         CS3 How often have you had difficulty in taking decisions? j
·         CS4 How often have you had difficulty with remembering? j
Self-efficacy: How well do these descriptions fit you as a person? (alpha .80)
·         SE1 I am always able to solve difficult problems‚ if I try hard enough. k
·         SE2 If people work against me‚ I find a way of achieving what I want. k
·         SE3 It is easy for me to stick to my plans and reach my objectives. k
·         SE4 I feel confident that I can handle unexpected events. k
·         SE5 When I have a problem‚ I can usually find several ways of solving it. k
·         SE6 Regardless of what happens‚ I usually manage. K
Offensive behaviour
Sexual harassment
·         SH Have you been exposed to undesired sexual attention at your workplace during the last 12 months? l +*
Threats of violence
·         TV Have you been exposed to threats of violence at your workplace during the last 12 months? l +*
Physical violence
·         PV Have you been exposed to physical violence at your workplace during the last 12 months? l +*
Bullying
BU Bullying means that a person repeatedly is exposed to unpleasant or degrading treatment‚ and that the person finds it difficult to defend himself or herself against it.
·         Have you been exposed to bullying at your workplace during the last 12 months? l +*
Unpleasant teasing
·         UT Have you been exposed to unpleasant teasing at your workplace during the last 12 months? l
Conflicts and quarrels
·         CQ Have you been involved in quarrels or conflicts at your workplace during the last 12 months? l
Gossip and slander
·         GS Have you been exposed to gossip and slander at your workplace during the last 12 months? m
+ “items at Medium version”; * “items at Short version”
(a) Always; Often; Sometimes; Seldom; Never/hardly ever
(b) Always; Often; Sometimes; Seldom; Never/hardly ever (reversed scoring)
(c) To a very large extent; To a large extent; Somewhat; To a small extent; To a very small extent
(d) Always; Often; Sometimes; Seldom; Never/hardly ever; Not relevant
(e) Very satisfied; Satisfied; Unsatisfied; Very unsatisfied; Not relevant
(f) Yes‚ often; Yes‚ sometimes; Rarely; No‚ never
(g) Yes‚ certainly; Yes‚ to a certain degree; Yes‚ but only very little; No‚ not at all
(h) To a very large extent; To a large extent; Somewhat; To a small extent; To a very small extent (reversed scoring)
(i) Excellent; Very good; Good; Fair; Poor
(j) All the time; A large part of the time; Part of the time; A small part of the time; Not at all
(k) Fits perfectly; Fits quite well; Fits a little bit; Does not fit
(l) Yes‚ daily; Yes‚ weekly; Yes‚ monthly; Yes‚ a few times; No
– If yes‚ with whom? (You may tick off more than one); Colleagues; Manager/superior; Subordinates; Clients/customers/patients
(m) Yes‚ daily; Yes‚ weekly; Yes‚ monthly; Yes‚ a few times; No
– If yes‚ from whom? (You may tick off more than one); Colleagues; Manager/superior; Subordinates; Clients/customers/patients
 

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