This paper investigates whether the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) 2.0 composite scales for demand, control, and stability-support at the task and organizational level are related to health and work-related outcomes as hypothesized in the job demand–control and Associationalist Demand-Control models. Further, the relative improvement of the JCQ 2.0 instrument over the JCQ 1 scales in the prediction of health and work-related outcomes is tested. The JCQ 2.0 was applied among workers in Australia and Germany. Analyses of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied for mean score comparison. In addition, path modeling as well as regression analyses were used. JCQ 2.0 task and organizational level demand, control, and stability-support as well as job strain and organizational-level active work are related to health and work-related outcomes as expected. Associations with active work at the task level are limited. A multilevel framework whereby organizational demands relate to task demands and, in turn, depression and burnout, is found in both German and Australian data. A similar organization to task process is found for control and support in German data, but for Australia, there is only a direct organizational effect on both outcomes. The task- and organizational-level composites - demand, control, and stability-support - explain unique variances in health and work-related outcomes. The JCQ 2.0 composites explain substantially more variance in all outcomes than the classic JCQ 1 DC and DCS scales. The results underline the utility of the JCQ 2.0 to assess multilevel aspects of the psychosocial work environment with broad practical value as a psychosocial risk assessment tool.

This article is published in the "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health" (2025).