How we judge our workers and their work: a new approach to examining occupational assessment in New Zealand

Abstract

In order to effectively assess views and attitudes amongst the wider public, it is necessary to understand the broad bases upon which those attitudes are formulated. In relation to the attitudes concerning occupational assessment, existing research has tended to be focused at the intra-organisational level based on equity theory. The current research sought to expand this focus, examining judgments of deservingness (Feather, 1992, 1994) as a means of investigating occupational assessment at the societal level. For this purpose the Income Deservingness Model was developed. This model predicted broad occupational groupings would emerge, and be positively or negative judged based on relative perceptions of how well rewarded and deserving of reward they were. The influences of individual differences, in the form of personal values upon trends in occupational assessment were also investigated. Participants were drawn from two samples, and consisted of undergraduate students (n = 104) and members of the general public (n = 117). Each group completed a questionnaire containing value items based on the Schwartz Value Inventory and Schwartz Structural Model of Value Relationships (1992), as well as several measures eliciting a variety of personal judgments towards eighteen different occupations. The responses to four of the occupational measures were independently factor analysed, with three clear groupings found to emerge across each in accordance with the typology hypothesised under the Income Deservingness Model. Descriptive statistics, intercorrelations and reliabilities for the different personal value groups were found to be similar to those of Schwartz (1992). Intercorrelations and ANOV As were then calculated between value priorities and judgments towards the found occupational types under different occupational measures. A number of different relationships were identified and analysed, suggesting that occupational assessments were clearly related to personal values. These findings were considered to validate deservingness as a more appropriate paradigm than equity theory, as the latter fails to conceptualise these considerations. The results also had specific theoretical implications for the Schwartz model (1992). The limitations and strengths of the current research, as well as the theoretical and practical implications and potential for future research development were discussed in relation to each of these findings.