Hackman, J. R., and Oldham, G. R. (1974). The Job Diagnostic Survey: An instrument for the diagnosis of jobs and the evaluation of job redesign projects. New Haven, CT: Yale University, Department of Administrative Sciences, Technical Report No. 4.
Comments: This 12-item measure, part of the JDS (Section 7), assesses a worker’s interest in getting “growth satisfaction” from work. Higher-order needs include: participation in decision making, the use of a variety of valued skills and abilities, freedom and independence, challenge, expression of creativity, and the opportunity for learning. Lower order needs include: high pay, fringe benefits, job security, friendly coworkers, and considerate supervision. Participants are asked to select between growth needs and other needs.
Scale Construction: See description of the JDS.
Sample: Overall, more than 1,500 people from 100 different jobs in 15 companies were surveyed. The respondents included blue-collar, white-collar, and professional workers.
Reliability: Internal consistency reliability for the “would like” format was 0.88 and 0.71 for the job choice format.
Validity: See description of the JDS.
Data Analysis: Means and variances of JDS scores for growth need strength are presented.
References
Cameron, G. J. (1984). The effects of clinical and traditional supervision methods on the satisfaction levels of higher and lower-order need teachers. EdD dissertation, University of San Diego.
Dunham, R. B. (1976). The measurement and dimensionality of job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology 61:404–9. Katz, R. (1978). Job longevity as a situational factor in job satisfaction. Administrative Science Quarterly 23:204–23.
Pastor, M. C., and Erlandson, D. A. (1982). A study of higher order need strength and job satisfaction in secondary public school teachers. Journal of Educational Administration 20:172–83.
Higher Order Need Strength Measure B
1. a. A job where the pay is very good.
b. A job where there is considerable opportunity to be creative and innovative.
2. a. A job where you are often required to make important decisions.
b. A job with many pleasant people to work with.
3. a. A job in which greater responsibility is given to those who do the best work.
b. A job in which greater responsibility is given to loyal employees who have the most seniority.
4. a. A job in an organization which is in financial trouble—and might have to close down within the year.
b. A job in which you are not allowed to have any say whatever in how your work is scheduled, or in the procedures to be used in carrying it out.
5. a. A very routine job.
b. A job where your coworkers are not very friendly.
6. a. A job with a supervisor who is often very critical of you and your work in front of other people.
b. A job which prevents you from using a number of skills that you worked hard to develop.
7. a. A job with a supervisor who respects you and treats you fairly.
b. A job which provides constant opportunities for you to learn new and interesting things.
8. a. A job where there is a real chance you could be laid off.
b. A job with very little chance to do challenging work.
9. a. A job in which there is a real chance for you to develop new skills and advance in the organization.
b. A job which provides lots of vacation time and an excellent fringe benefit package.
10. a. A job with little freedom and independence to do your work in the way you think best.
b. A job where the working conditions are poor.
11. a. A job with very satisfying teamwork.
b. A job which allows you to use your skills and abilities to the fullest extent.
12. a. A job which offers little or no challenge.
b. A job which requires you to be completely isolated from coworkers.
Scoring: Strongly Prefer A = 1; Slightly Prefer A = 2; Neutral = 3; Slightly Prefer B = 4; and Strongly Prefer B = 5. A score over 3.00 signifies a predominance of higher order need choices, while a score under 3.00 signifies a predominance of lower order need choices.