Table 2.
Dimension description. Italics: The Swedish Work Environment Authorities official translation from Swedish to English have been used for all the questions included in the postal/web questionnaire. The questions in italics represents the questions asked by means of telephone interviews. Since no official translation of these questions are available. The authors did the translations. [R=response alternatives have been reversed compared with the original scale.]
| Domain | Dimension | Dimension formulation | Response scale in present study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job resources | |||
| Influence | Autonomy a | Do you feel that you have too little or too much influence in your work? | 1 = too little influence, fully agree, 2 = too little influence, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = too much influence, partly agree, |
| 5 = too much influence, completely agree | |||
| Decision authority: pace | Do you have the opportunity to determine your work pace? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = about 1/10 of the time, 3 = about 1/4 of the time, 4 = half the time, 5 = about 3/4 of the time, 6 = nearly all the time (R) | |
| Decision authority: when | Are you able to determine when various work duties are to be carried out (for example, by choosing to work a bit faster on some days and taking it easier on other days)? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = mostly not, 3 = mostly, 4 = always (R) b | |
| Decision authority: what, how | Do you participate in decisions on the arrangement of your work (e.g., what is to be done, how to do it, or who will work with you)? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = mostly not, 3 = mostly, 4 = always (R) b | |
| Unbound and free | Do you feel that your work is bound and unfree or that it is unbound and free? | 1 = bound and unfree, fully agree, 2 = bound and unfree, partially agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = unbound and free, partially agree, 5 = unbound and free, fully agree | |
| Social support | Support from colleagues | Are you able to get support and encouragement from colleagues when work feels difficult? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = mostly not, 3 = mostly, 4 = always (R) b |
| Appreciation | Do other people show appreciation for things you do (e.g., colleagues, patients, customers, clients, passengers, and students)? | 1 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months, 2 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 5 = every day (R) b | |
| Supervisor support a | Are you able to get support and encouragement from supervisors when work feels difficult? | 1 = always, 2 = mostly, 3 = mostly not, 4 = no, not at all | |
| Supervisor appreciation a | Does your supervisor show appreciation for things you do? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months | |
| Recovery | Pause opportunities | Can you take short breaks at virtually any time? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = about 1/10 of the time, 3 = about 1/4 of the time, 4 = half the time, 5 = about 3/4 of the time, 6 = nearly all the time (R) |
| Meaningfulness | Meaningfulness | Do you feel that much of your work is meaningless or meaningful? | 1 = very meaningless work, fully agree, 2 = very meaningless work, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = very meaningful work, partly agree, 5 = very meaningful work, completely agree |
| Job demands | |||
| Cognitive | Difficulty of work tasks | Do you feel that you have too difficult or too simple tasks in your work? | 1 = far too difficult, fully agree, 2 = far too difficult, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = far too simple, partly agree, 5 = far too simple, completely agree |
| Monotony | Do you feel that your work is monotonous or varied? | 1 = monotonous work, fully agree, 2 = monotonous work, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = varied work, partly agree, 5 = varied work, completely agree | |
| Concentration | Does the work require your full attention and concentration? | 1 = no, not at all, 2 = about 1/10 of the time, 3 = about 1/4 of the time, 4 = half the time, 5 = about 3/4 of the time, 6 = nearly all the time (R) | |
| Psychological pressure | Do you find your work mentally stressful or calm and pleasant? | 1 = mentally stressful work, fully agree, 2 = mentally stressful work, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = mentally easy work, partly agree, 5 = mentally easy work, completely agree | |
| Quantitative | Workload | Do you feel that you have far too much or too little to do in your work? | 1 = far too much to do, fully agree, 2 = far too much to do, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = far too little to do, partly agree, 5 = far too little to do, completely agree |
| Work–leisure spillover | Do you find that you cannot stop thinking about work when you are free? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months | |
| Time pressure | Is your work so stressful that you do not have time to talk or even think about anything other than work? | 1 = nearly all the time, 2 = about 3/4 of the time, 3 = half the time, 4 = about 1/4 of the time, 5 = about 1/10 of the time, 6 = no, not at all | |
| Overtime | Do you have so much work that you must miss lunch, work late, or take work home? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months | |
| Emotional | Emotionally demanding contacts | Do you sometimes come in close contact through your work with severely ill people or people with severe problems? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months |
| Violence and threats | Are you exposed to violence or threats of violence in your work? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = a few times in the last 3 months, 6 = a few times in the last 12 months, 7 = not at all in the last 12 months | |
| Physical | Work postures | Do you feel that you have strenuous or comfortable working positions in your work? | 1 = strenuous, fully agree, 2 = strenuous, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = comfortable, partly agree, 5 = comfortable, completely agree |
| Bend and twist | Do you bend or twist yourself in your work in the same way repeatedly in an hour, for several hours during the same day? | 1 = every day, 2 = a couple of days per week (1 day of 2), 3 = one day per week (1 day of 5), 4 = a couple of days per month (1 day of 10), 5 = not at all/rarely the last 3 months | |
| Physical workload | Do you feel that you have strenuous heavy work or that it is physically very easy? | 1 = physically strenuous work, fully agree, 2 = physically strenuous work, partly agree, 3 = neither/nor, 4 = physically easy work, partly agree, 5 = physically easy work, completely agree |