Job Diagnostic Survey

Description

The Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS), developed by Hackman and Oldham (1974), measures overall and facet specific job satisfaction. Overall job satisfaction is measured in terms of three dimensions including general sat­ isfaction (five items), internal work motivation (six items), and growth satis­ faction (four items). These dimensions are often combined into a single measure of job satisfaction. The JDS also measures satisfaction with the job facets of security, compensation, co-workers, and supervision. Satisfaction with these facets and growth satisfaction have also been combined to form a composite measure (Duffy, Ganster, & Shaw, 1998).

Reliability

Coefficient alpha for the measure encompassing general satisfaction, inter­nal work motivation, and growth satisfaction ranged from .55 to .92 (Adkins, 1995; Mannheim, Baruch, & Tai, 1997; Munz, Huelsman, Konold, & McKinney, 1996; Netemeyer, Johnston, & Burton, 1990; Pearson, 1992; Rothausen, Gonzalez, Clarke, & O’Dell, 1998). General satisfaction had a coefficient alpha of .77, internal work motivation had an alpha of .67, and growth satisfaction had an alpha of .85 (Munz et al., 1996). In Duffy et al. (1998), coefficient alpha for a composite of facet and growth satisfaction was .91. Coefficient alphas for the facet satisfaction subscales were .89 for satisfaction with supervision, .84 for satisfaction with growth, .73 for satis­ faction with job security, .88 for satisfaction with pay, and .63 for satisfac­tion with co-workers (Mathieu, Hofmann, & Farr, 1993).

Validity

Overall job satisfaction correlated positively with organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors, and interrole facilitation. It cor­ related negatively with tenure (Duffy et al., 1998; Thompson & Werner, 1997). In confirmatory factor analysis, Mathieu and Farr (1991) found that organizational commitment, job involvement, and overall job satisfaction were empirically distinct.

Source

Items

General satisfaction instructions and items:

Each of the statements below is something that a person might say about his or her job. You are to indicate your own personal feelings about your job by marking how much you agree with each of the statements. How much do you agree with the statement?

(1 = disagree strongly, 2 = disagree, 3 = disagree slightly, 4 = neutral,

5 = agree slightly, 6 = agree, 7 = agree strongly)

1. Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with this job
2. I am generally satisfied with the kind of work I do in this job
3. I frequently think of quitting this job (R)

Now please think of the other people in your organization who hold the same job you do.If no one has exactly the same job as you, think of the job which is most similar to yours. Please think about how accurately each of the state­ ments describes the feelings of those people about the job. It is quite all right if your answers here are different from when you described your own reac­ tions to the job. Often different people feel quite differently about the same job. How much do you agree with the statement?

(1 = disagree strongly, 2 = disagree, 3 = disagree slightly, 4 = neutral,

5 = agree slightly, 6 = agree, 7 = agree strongly)

4. Most people on this job are very satisfied with the job
5. People on this job often think of quitting (R)

Internal work motivation items:

Now please indicate how you personally feel about your job. Each of the statements below is something that a person might say about his or her job. You are to indicate your own personal feelings about your job by marking how much you agree with each of the statements. How much do you agree with the statement?

(1 = disagree strongly, 2 = disagree, 3 = disagree slightly, 4 = neutral,

5 = agree slightly, 6 = agree, 7 = agree strongly)

1. My opinion of myself goes up when I do this job well
2. I feel a great sense of personal satisfaction when I do this job well
3. I feel bad and unhappy when I discover that I have performed poorly on this job
4. My own feelings generally are not affected much one way or the other by how well I do on this job (R)

Now please think of the other people in your organization who hold the same job you do.If no one has exactly the same job as you, think of the job which is most similar to yours. Please think about how accurately each of the state­ ments describes the feelings of those people about the job. It is quite all right if your answers here are different from when you described your own reac­ tions to the job. Often different people feel quite differently about the same job. How much do you agree with the statement?

(1 = disagree strongly, 2 = disagree, 3 = disagree slightly, 4 = neutral,

5 = agree slightly, 6 = agree, 7 = agree strongly)

5. Most people on this job feel a great sense of personal satisfaction when they do the job well
6. Most people on this job feel bad or unhappy when they find that they have performed the work poorly

Growth satisfaction items:

Now please indicate how satisfied you are with each aspect of your job listed below. How satisfied are you with this aspect of your job?

(1 = extremely dissatisfied, 2 = dissatisfied, 3 = slightly dissatisfied,

4 = neutral, 5 = slightly satisfied, 6 = satisfied, 7 = extremely satisfied)

1. The amount of personal growth and development I get in doing my job
2. The feeling of worthwhile accomplishment I get from doing my job
3. The amount of independent thought and action I can exercise in my job
4. The amount of challenge in my job

Facet satisfaction items:

Now please indicate how satisfied you are with each aspect of your job listed below. How satisfied are you with this aspect of your job?

(1 = extremely dissatisfied, 2 = dissatisfied, 3 = slightly dissatisfied,

4 = neutral, 5 = slightly satisfied, 6 = satisfied, 7 = extremely satisfied)

Satisfaction with security:

1. The amount of job security I have
2. How secure things look for me in the future in this organization

Satisfaction with compensation (pay):

1. The amount of pay and fringe benefits I receive
2. The degree to which I am fairly paid for what I contribute to this organization

“Social” satisfaction:

1. The people I talk to and work with on my job
2. The chance to get to know other people while on the job
3. The chance to help other people while at work

“Supervisory” satisfaction:

1. The degree of respect and fair treatment I receive from my boss
2. The amount of support and guidance I receive from my supervisor
3. The overall quality of the supervision I receive in my work