This lab was fun and informative in a different way. Today
we talked about a particular measure used to determine cognitive behavioral
demands in the workplace. We learned about job demands and the particular areas
to measure. I also found it very helpful to learn about the different analyses
we can do such as:
- Activity Analysis: A specific activity
- Job Analysis: A group of activities that makes up a job
- Functional Assessment: How well someone can actually perform a specific activity or task
This was exemplified when we
spent the majority of time doing a class activity. In groups, we split up to
assume the role of therapist, client, and interviewer. The task was to complete
an occupational demands analysis interview with a role-playing ‘client’ using
the City of Toronto Job Demands Analysis (JDA) scale. For this activity, we
measured our ‘clients’ on a variety of factors including:
- Self-Supervision
- Supervision
- Deadlines
- Attention to Detail
- Multiple tasks
- Distracting Stimuli
- Work Cooperatively
- Emotional Situations
- Confrontation
- Responsibility
An online resource to look at this assessment is: www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/.../cognitive+demands+tool.pdf
I found
that it was a great tool to use to gather information and get an idea of what
some of the demands were for a particular job. However, as we compared our
results with the rest of the class, we found that there were discrepancies in
the scores and findings. This indicates that there may be issues with
interrater reliability. I found that the way in which I asked questions to my
‘client’ also affected how she answered. If I kept it very structured, reading
only the statements and options, I would get a short answer. If I asked in a
more conversational tone, I would get a longer answer with more explanation.
One great
resource that was shared with the class was O*Net, an online catalogue of
thousands of jobs that one might hold in North America. It profiles job demands
and general tasks that are required to fulfill the role. In my future practice,
I can definitely see myself using this website as a resource to help understand
some of the demands of a particular job.
