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Occupational Requirements Survey
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Requirements Survey > About > Info for Survey Participants

Information for Survey Participants

General Information

  • Social Security endorsement letter (PDF)
  • Combined infographics (PDF)
    • Why it Matters? (PDF)
    • What is it? (PDF)
  • We Need Your Help (PDF)
  • Respondent reference guide (PDF)

    Overview

    We will capture durations for some of the physical demands and environmental conditions based on the ranges below:

    Duration

    Overall range

    8 Hour day

    40 Hour week

    Seldom

    Up to 2%

    Less than 10 minutes

    Less than 45 minutes

    Occasionally

    2% up to 1/3

    10 minutes up to 2 1/2 hours

    45 minutes up to 13 hours

    Frequently

    1/3 up to 2/3

    2 1/2 hours up to 5 1/2 hours

    13 hours up to 3 1/2 days

    Constantly

    2/3 or more

    5 1/2 hours or more

    3 1/2 days or more

    Job Information & Requirements

    For each of the jobs we will be talking about today, we will need the following information:

        • The number of full time and part time employees in the job
        • The typical or average work schedule for full time and part time workers
          • For example – full time: 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week; part time: 4 hours a day, 20 hours a week
        • Any educational requirements for the job – high school diploma, college degree, etc.
        • Any other special training required to get the job – certificates, licenses, vocational training, etc.
        • Any related professional work experience needed to get hired for the job

    Job Function and Tasks

    We will also be asking about what the job does in a typical day:

        • What are the most important things this job does for your organization?
        • What is the purpose of this job?
        • What do workers in this job do in a regular day?

    Supervisory Information

        • Does this job supervise anyone?
        • Is their supervisor in the area where they typically work?
        • How does their supervisor check the quality of their work?

    Mental Demands

    During this part of the interview we’ll talk about the mental demands of the occupations such as:

        • How fast work is performed?
        • How difficult the work is?
        • How closely the job is supervised?

    Physical Demands

    We will also be asking about key physical requirements for the job including:

    Pushing/pulling

    Are they pushing or pulling anything that requires a significant amount of force?

    Nurse pushing patient in wheelchair Worker pulling cart of boxes

    Reaching/manipulation

    Do any of their tasks require gross manipulation*?
    *Seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with the hand(s).

    Woman holding books Woman inspecting an item while working in a warehouse gross manipulation trimming shrubs

    Do any of their tasks require fine manipulation*?
    * Touching, picking, pinching, or otherwise working primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm, as in gross manipulation.

    Technician fixing computers Lab technician using a pipette

    Postural

    Do any of their tasks requires them to use low postures such as:
    Stooping, crouching, kneeling, or crawling?

    A maid stooping Crouching photographer Man crouching while lowering a jack at the rear of a travel trailer

     

    Environmental Conditions

    We will ask if any of the following conditions are encountered while performing the job:

        • Outdoors
        • Extreme heat*
        • Extreme cold*
        • Wetness
        • Humidity
        • Heavy vibration
        • Hazardous contaminants*
        • Moving mechanical parts*

    * is personal protective equipment (PPE) used, such as ear plugs, hearing protection, safety harnesses, etc.?

  • Additional respondent resources
  • Your compensation companion: a practical guide to BLS data (PDF)

Collection forms

Collection manuals

The procedures and instructions used by BLS during ORS data collection are updated annually in conjunction with the fielding of each sample. The first wave of collection consisted of three samples and correspond to reference year 2018 estimates. The second wave of collection will include five samples and correspond to preliminary estimates each year until final reference year 2023 estimates are published.

  • Second wave (five sample groups collected from September 2018 to July 2023)
  • First wave (three sample groups for the following collection periods)
    • 2017-2018 (PDF)
    • 2016-2017 (PDF)
    • 2015-2016 (PDF)

Visual Aids

Environmental conditions visual overview (PDF)

Physical demands visual overview (PDF)