Measuring Occupational Identity and Occupational Commitment

Vocational education and socialization research suggest describing the development of occupational identity as a dimension of the development of vocational skills and integrating it into a competence model. When modeling occupational commitment, different reference fields of work-related commitment must be operationalized. Five factors in particular lend themselves to this: (1) the emotional attachment to the organization, the organizational identity; the (2) organizational commitment based on this; (3) the identification with the occupation, the occupational identity; the (4) occupational commitment arising from this; and finally (5) the work ethic. Since occupational identity is related to the respective occupation, it is not possible for a cross-occupational conception to develop a scale to capture it that is based on assumptions about the respective specific content of such an identity. Instead, the scale focuses on those cognitive and emotional dispositions that correspond to a development from novice to expert in a profession and lead to professional ability to act. Three aspects were identified for this purpose: (1) the interest in placing one’s own activities in the overall occupational or company context; (2) the interest in helping to shape work and technology; and (3) the interest in high-quality performance of one’s own work. An objective prerequisite for the development of professional identity are professions that have a high identification potential. In addition to the small group of timeless, traditional crafts professions, the future belongs above all to the broad-based core professions with their occupational profiles that are open to development.