Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)

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1.    I have almost complete responsibility for deciding how and when the work is to be done.
2.    I have a chance to do a number of different tasks‚ using a wide variety of different skills and talents.
3.    I do a complete task from start to finish. The results of my efforts are clearly visible and identifiable.
4.    What I do affects the well-being of other people in very important ways.
5.    My manager provides me with constant feedback about how I am doing.
6.    The work itself provides me with information about how well I am doing.
7.    I make insignificant contributions to the final product or service.
8.    I get to use a number of complex skills on this job.
9.    I have very little freedom in deciding how the work is to be done.
10.Just doing the work provides me with opportunities to figure out how well I am doing.
11.The job is quite simple and repetitive.
12.My supervisors or coworkers rarely give me feedback on how well I am doing the job.
13.What I do is of little consequence to anyone else.
14.My job involves doing a number of different tasks.
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15.Supervisors let us know how well they think we are doing.
16.My job is arranged so that I do not have a chance to do an entire piece of work from beginning to end.
17.My job does not allow me an opportunity to use discretion or participate in decision making.
18.The demands of my job are highly routine and predictable.
19.My job provides few clues about whether I’m performing adequately.
20.My job is not very important to the company’s survival.
21.My job gives me considerable freedom in doing the work.
22.My job provides me with the chance to finish completely any work I start.
23.Many people are affected by the job I do.
 
 
Skill variety (alpha 0.71)‚ Task identity (alpha 0.59)‚ Task significance (alpha 0.66)‚ Autonomy (alpha 0.66)‚ and Feedback (alpha 0.71)
 
 
5 = Very descriptive‚ 4 = Mostly descriptive‚ 3 = Somewhat descriptive‚ 2 = Mostly no descriptive‚ 1 = Very no descriptive
Scoring Key:
Skill variety (SV) (items #2‚ 8‚ 11*‚ 14‚ 18*) = ___ /5 = ___
Task identity (TI) (items #3‚ 7*‚ 16*‚ 22) = ___ /4 = ___
Task significance (TS) (items #4‚ 13*‚ 20*‚ 23) = ___ /4 = ___
Autonomy (AU) (items #1‚ 9*‚ 17*‚ 21) = ___ /4 = ___
Feedback (FB) (items #5‚ 6‚ 10‚ 12*‚ 15‚ 19*) = ___ /6 = ___
 (Note: For the items with asterisks‚ subtract your score from 6.)
Total the numbers for each ch‎aracteristic and divide by the number of items to get an average score.
Now you are ready to calculate the MPS by using the following formula:
Motivating Potential Score (MPS) = (SV + TI + TS)*AU*FB/3
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This instrument can be found online at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED099580.pdf &
 
 

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Hackman‚ Rich‎ard; Oldham‚ Greg R. (1975): Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology‚ 60(2); 159 – 170.[/perfectpullquote]

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Hackman‚ J. Rich‎ard; Oldham‚ Greg R.: Work Redesign (Organization Development). Upper Saddle River (New Jersey): Prentice Hall‚ 1980[/perfectpullquote]

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Hackman‚ J. R. & Oldham‚ G. R. (2005). How job ch‎aracteristics theory happened. The Oxford handbook of management theory: The process of theory development‚ 151-170.[/perfectpullquote]

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Oldham‚ G. R.‚ & Hackman‚ J. R. (2010) Not what it was and not what it will be: The future of job design research. Journal of Organizational Behavior‚ 31(2)‚ 463-479.[/perfectpullquote]

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Dadras M.(2010). An investigating of the effect of core self-evaluations on job satisfaction‚ job performanceand organizational commitment‚ considering themediating role of perceptions of job ch‎aracteristics‚ organizational empowerment‚ organizational climate and goal commitment in employees ofNISOC in Ahvaz [Dissertation]. Ahvaz: ShahidChamran University. [Persian][/perfectpullquote]

 

Cite this article

Mohammed looti (2025). Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Retrieved from https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/job-diagnostic-survey-jds/

Mohammed looti. "Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 9 Oct. 2025, https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/job-diagnostic-survey-jds/.

Mohammed looti. "Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 2025. https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/job-diagnostic-survey-jds/.

Mohammed looti (2025) 'Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)', Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Available at: https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/job-diagnostic-survey-jds/.

[1] Mohammed looti, "Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)," Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, October, 2025.

Mohammed looti. Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. 2025;vol(issue):pages.

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