JCQ & JCQ2 – The Job Content Questionnaire

The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and its extended version, JCQ2, are internationally recognized, scientifically validated instruments for assessing psychosocial work organization.

Both instruments are based on Robert Karasek’s Demand–Control–Support theory, one of the world’s most influential models for understanding work-related stress, health, motivation, and innovation. Thousands of peer-reviewed studies and decades of international application support their validity.

Who Uses JCQ & JCQ2

JCQ instruments are used worldwide by:

• Professors and academic researchers
• PhD, Master’s, and Bachelor students
• Consultants, HR managers, and counselors
• Employees participating in internal company surveys
• Government and Ministry representatives

This broad usage demonstrates the instruments’ versatility, reliability, and international credibility.

What JCQ Measures

The JCQ instruments assess psychosocial work content in a standardized and comparable way across jobs, organizations, and countries. They measure critical aspects of work that are otherwise difficult to assess, including:

• Job demands, control, and support
• Psychosocial stress risks and health outcomes (e.g., chronic disease, depression, sickness absence)
• Job satisfaction, engagement, and retention
• Active work, learning, creativity, and innovation potential

Through decades of standardization, JCQ benchmark scale scores are uniquely comparable internationally.

JCQ1 and JCQ2 – One Instrument Framework

JCQ1 – The Classical Reference

JCQ1 is the original and most widely used form of the Job Content Questionnaire. It is the classical reference instrument, with decades of validation and widespread international use. JCQ1 measures psychosocial job content primarily at the task or job level and includes scales such as:

• Decision Latitude (Skill Discretion + Decision Authority)
• Psychological Job Demands
• Social Support (Supervisor + Coworker Support)
• Physical Demands
• Job Insecurity

Key features:

• 10–49 questions (configurable)
• Average completion time: 5–30 minutes
• International benchmarks and 29+ languages
• Suitable for research, academic, and organizational surveys

JCQ2 – The Expanded Version with Additional Perspectives

JCQ2 builds on the classical JCQ framework, retaining its original task-level scales and theoretical narrative, while incorporating additional perspectives at the organizational and contextual levels. These extra dimensions allow assessment of factors such as organizational fairness, social trust, team coordination, and broader contextual influences on work, without altering the original JCQ logic or benchmarks.

JCQ2 adds assessment of:

• Organizational fairness and decision-making inclusiveness
• Social trust and team coordination
• Organizational stability and predictability
• Social and emotional demands
• Skill development at worker–customer interfaces
• Expanded measures of job insecurity in the global labor market

Key features:

• 25 scales (task, organizational, and external levels)
• Average completion time: 15–30 minutes
• Group administration recommended
• Maintains the same international benchmarks as JCQ1

Key Principle: JCQ1 and JCQ2 are Complementary

JCQ1 and JCQ2 are part of the same instrument family. JCQ1 remains the fully validated reference standard, and JCQ2 builds directly upon it to provide additional perspectives where required.

Neither instrument replaces the other. The choice depends on the scope and focus of the assessment:

• JCQ1 – when the analytical focus is the job or task itself
• JCQ2 – when additional organizational or external contextual factors are part of the assessment 

  JCQ & JCQ2 

  Sample card (example of questions)

  

   

Scientific Foundation

Both JCQ1 and JCQ2 are grounded in the Demand–Control–Support (D/C/S) Model, extended in JCQ2 through the Associationalist Demand–Control Model (A-D/C Model).

JCQ2 was developed through a 10-year international process with pilot studies on more than 17,000 respondents in Germany, Australia, China, and Korea. This ensures continuity, consistency, and comparability with JCQ1.

Practical Use

• Simple online questions, easy to answer
• Group administration recommended
• Suitable for research, organizational assessments, policy analysis, and interventions
• All scales can be linked to health and productivity outcomes for comprehensive analysis

Licensing, Language, and Permission

• Available in 29+ languages
• Copyrighted by Professor Robert Karasek JCQ Center Global
• Permission is required prior to use
• Usage Request Information Form is available on this website

Choosing Between JCQ1 and JCQ2

Many users continue to use JCQ1 because of its clarity, historical continuity, and extensive validation. JCQ2 is used where additional organizational or contextual perspectives are required.

Neither instrument replaces the other; both share the same theoretical foundation, scales logic, and international benchmarks.

Table Summary