Table 2.
Dimensions and items in the COPSOQ III. A short overview
| Domain | Dimension | Dimension name | II-long/middle/short | III-long | III-middle/core | Level | Item, item name. and short label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demands at Work | Quantitative Demands | QD | 4/4/2 | 4 | 3/2 | J | QD1 Work piles up¤; QD2 Complete task; QD3 Get behind∗; QD4 Enough time∗ |
| Work Pace | WP | 3/3/2 | 3 | 2/2 | J | WP1 Work fast∗; WP2 High pace∗; WP3 High pace necessary | |
| Cognitive Demands | DC | 4/0/0 | 4 | 0/0 | J | CD1 Eyes on lots of things; CD2 Remember a lot; CD 3 New ideas; CD4 Difficult decisions | |
| Emotional Demands | ED | 4/4/2 | 3 | 3/2 | J | ED1 Emotional disturbing¤; EDX2 Deal with other people's problems*; ED3 Emotionally demanding∗ | |
| Demands for Hiding Emotions | HE | 3/0/0 | 4 | 3/0 | JD | HE1 Treat equally; HE2 Hide feelings¤; HE3 Kind and open¤; HE4 Not state own opinion¤ | |
| Work Organization and Job Contents | Influence at Work | IN | 4/4/2 | 6 | 4/1 | J | INX1 Influence decisions on work*; IN2 Say in choosing colleges; IN3 Amount of work¤; IN4 Influence work task¤; IN5 Work Pace; IN6 How you work¤ |
| Possibilities for Development | PD | 4/4/2 | 3 | 3/2 | J | PD2 Learning new things∗; PD3 Use skills∗; PD4 Develop skills¤ | |
| Variation of Work | VA | 3/3/2 | 2 | 0/0 | J | VA1 Work varied; VA2 Do things over and over again | |
| Control over Working Time (1 | CT | — | 5 | 4/0 | JD | CT1 Decide breaks¤; CT2 Take holiday¤; CT3 Chat with colleague¤; CT4 Private business¤; (2 | |
| Meaning of Work | MW | 3/3/2 | 2 | 2/1 | J | MW1 Work meaningful∗; MW2 Work important¤ | |
| Interpersonal Relations and Leadership | Predictability | PR | 2/2/2 | 2 | 2/2 | D | PR1 Informed about changes∗; PR2 Information to work well∗ |
| Recognition (3 | RE | 3/3/2 | 3 | 1/1 | DC | RE1 Recognized by management∗; RE2 Respected by management; RE3 Treated fairly | |
| Role Clarity | CL | 3/3/2 | 3 | 3/1 | JD | CL1 Clear objectives∗; CL2 Responsibility¤; CL3 Expectation¤ | |
| Role Conflicts | CO | 4/4/0 | 2 | 2/2 | JD | CO2 Contradictory demands∗; CO3 Do things wrongly∗ | |
| Illegitimate Tasks | IT | — | 1 | 1/0 | JD | (4 | |
| Quality of Leadership | QL | 4/4/2 | 4 | 3/2 | D | QLX1 Development opportunities¤; QL2 Prioritize job satisfaction; QL3 Work planning∗; QL4 Solving conflicts∗ | |
| Social Support from Supervisor | SS | 3/3/2 | 3 | 2/1 | JD | SSX1 Supervisor listens to problems¤; SSX2 Support supervisor*; SSX3 Supervisor talks about performance | |
| Social Support from Colleagues | SC | 3/3/2 | 3 | 2/1 | JD | SCX1 Support colleagues*; SCX2 Colleagues listen to problems¤; SC3 Colleagues talk about performance | |
| Sense of Community at Work (5 | SW | 3/3/0 | 3 | 2/1 | JDC | SW1 Atmosphere∗; SW2 Cooperation; SW3 Community¤ | |
| Work–Individual Interface | Commitment to the Workplace | CW | 4/4/2 | 5 | 0/0 | IJC | CW1 Enjoy telling others; CW2 Workplace great importance; CWX3 Recommend to other people; CW4 Looking for work elsewhere; CW5 Proud |
| Work Engagement (6 | WE | — | 3 | 0/0 | IJC | WE1 Burst with energy; WE2 Enthusiastic; WE3 Immersed | |
| Job Insecurity (7 | JI | 4/0/0 | 3 | 2/2 | W | JI1 Unemployed∗; JI2 Redundant; JI3 Finding new job∗ | |
| Insecurity over Working Conditions (8 | IW | 5 | 3/1 | W | *(9; IW2 Transferred another task; IW3 Changed working time¤; IW4 Decreased salary¤; (10 | ||
| Quality of Work | QW | — | 2 | 1/0 | W | QW1 Possible to perform own tasks; QW2 Satisfied at workplace level¤ | |
| Job Satisfaction | JS | 4/4/1 | 5 | 3/1 | W | JS1 Work prospects¤; JS2 Work conditions; JS3 Work abilities; JS4 Job in general∗; JS5 Salary¤ | |
| Work Life Conflict (11 | WF | 4/4/2 | 6 | 2/2 | W | WFX1 Being in both places; WF2 Energy conflict∗; WF3 Time conflict∗; WF5 Work demands interfere; WF6 Change plans | |
| Social Capital (12 | Vertical Trust (13 | TM | 3/3/0 | 4 | 3/2 | C | TM1 Management trust employees∗; TM2 Employees trust information∗; TM3Management withhold information; TM4 Employees express views¤ |
| Horizontal Trust (14 | TE | 4/4/2 | 3 | 1/0 | C | TE1 Colleagues withhold information; TE2 Withhold information management; TE3 Trust colleagues¤ | |
| Organizational Justice (15 | JU | 4/4/2 | 4 | 2/2 | C | JU1 Conflicts resolved fairly∗; JU2 Employees appreciated; JU3 Suggestions treated seriously; JU4 Work distributed fairly∗ | |
| Conflicts and offensive behaviors | Gossip and Slander | GS | 1/0/0 | 1 | 0/0 | W | GS Gossip and slander |
| Conflicts and Quarrels | CQ | 1/0/0 | 1 | 0/0 | W | CQ1 Conflicts and quarrels | |
| Unpleasant Teasing | UT | 1/0/0 | 1 | 0/0 | W | UT1 Unpleasant teasing | |
| Cyber Bullying | HSM | — | 1 | 0/0 | JW | HSM1 Cyber bullying | |
| Sexual Harassment | SH | 1/1/1 | 1 | 0/0 | JW | SH1 Sexual harassment | |
| Threats of Violence | TV | 1/1/1 | 1 | 0/0 | JW | TV1 Threats of violence | |
| Physical Violence | PV | 1/1/1 | 1 | 0/0 | JW | PV1 Physical violence | |
| Bullying | BU | 1/1/1 | 2 | 0/0 | W | BU1 Bullying; BU2 Unjustly criticized, bullied, shown up | |
| Health and well-being | Self-rated Health | GH | 1/1/1 | 2 | 1/1 | I | GH1 General health∗; GH2 Rate in 10 points |
| Sleeping Troubles | SL | 4/4/0 | 4 | 0/0 | I | SL1 Slept badly; SL2 Hard to sleep; SL3 Woken up early; SL4 Woken up several times | |
| Burnout | BO | 4/4/2 | 4 | 0/0 | I | BO1 Worn out; BO2 Physically exhausted; BO3 Emotionally exhausted; BO4 Tired | |
| Stress | ST | 4/4/2 | 3 | 0/0 | I | ST1 Problems relaxing; ST2 Irritable; ST3 Tense | |
| Somatic Stress | SO | 4/0/0 | 4 | 0/0 | I | SO1 Stomach ache; SO2 Headache; SO3 Palpitations; SO4 Muscle tension | |
| Cognitive Stress | CS | 4/0/0 | 4 | 0/0 | I | CS1 Problems concentrating; CS2 Difficult thinking clearly; CS3 Difficult taking decisions; CS4 Difficult remembering | |
| Depressive Symptoms | DS | 4/0/0 | 4 | 0/0 | I | DS1 Sadness; DS2 Lack of self-confidence; DS3 Feel guilty; DS4 Lack of interest in daily activity | |
| Personality | Self-Efficacy | SE | 6/0/0 | 6 | 0/0 | I | SE1 Solve problems; SE2 Achieving what I want; SE3 Reach objectives; SE4 Handle unexpected events; SE5 Several ways solving problems; SE6 Usually manage |
Exact formulation of items is available [72]. Italic denotes new Dimension or Item. Bold and italic denote a relabeled Domain, Dimension or wording of Item. Underscore and italic denote Dimension or Item from the COPSOQ I. Underscore, bold and italic denote a relabeled Dimension from the COPSOQ I. Double underscore and italic denote Item transferred from another the COPSOQ II scale. Level: Individual level; J, Job level; D, Department level; C, Company level; W, Work–individual interface.
Note that core items are mandatory in all short, middle, and long national versions of the COPSOQ. Choice of items national middle versions can deviate from the international version listed here.
Explanation of footnotes in the table: (1 In COPSOQ I & II labeled Degrees of freedom. (2 From the COPSOQ I Quantitative Demands scale. (3 In COPSOQ II labeled Recognition (Reward). (4 From COPSOQ II Role Conflicts scale, item CO4. (5 In COPSOQ I & II labeled Social Community at Work. (6 From the Work Engagement scale [69]. (7 In COPSOQ I & II labeled Job Insecurity. (8 Split out from the Job Insecurity scale from COPSOQ I & II. (9 From the COPSOQ I & II Job Insecurity scale, item JI4. (10 From the test version of the COPSOQ II Rewards scale. (11 In COPSOQ II labeled Work–family conflict. (12 In COPSOQ 2 called Values on the workplace level (13 In COPSOQ II labeled Trust regarding management. (14 In COPSOQ II labeled Mutual trust between employees. (15 In COPSOQ II labeled Justice.
Mandatory core item; ¤middle item; otherwise long item.