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The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of occupational disidentification through the lens of conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 1998). Occupational disidentification is conceptualized as a coping strategy, or an investment of resources to cope with poor perceived prestige of the occupation, which represents a threat to an individual’s resource: one’s self-esteem. However, occupational disidentification, as an avoidance coping strategy, generates a loss of cognitive and emotional resources leading to emotional exhaustion and, in turn, departure from the organization.

The research hypotheses are tested among two samples of employees working in health and social services (Study 1, N=544), and in home care services (Study 2, N=113). Measures of employees’ attitudes were collected at the same time, and turnover was collected 18 months (Study 1) and 12 months (Study 2) later.

Research hypotheses are all supported. Occupational disidentification partially mediates the occupational prestige-emotional exhaustion relationship, and emotional exhaustion partially mediates the occupational disidentification-turnover intention relationship. Perceived organizational support moderates the negative relationship between perceived occupational prestige and occupational disidentification.

The main contribution of this study is the conceptualization of occupational disidentification within the theoretical framework of COR. In that vein, the study provides: a deeper understanding of the mechanisms explaining and buffering occupational disidentification, and empirical evidence of the key role of emotional exhaustion to explain the consequences of occupational disidentification.

In a period of profound crisis for professions, this paper aims to develop knowledge about the role of proactive personality in the relationship between accountants’ occupational prestige and goal orientation.

The study draws upon the literature on professions and employs a multiple linear regression analysis to test the mediating role of proactive personality when accountants challenge external events threatening their profession. The study focuses on Italy, an area characterized by a high degree of precariousness where, over the past 30 years, accountants have been facing many threats undermining their occupational prestige.

The findings show that proactive accountants are more goal-oriented, unless they perceive that others consider their career to be prestigious. Therefore, the study demonstrates that occupational prestige – more volatile and subject to external forces– can shape proactive personality – usually internally determined and more stable – insofar a perceived low occupational prestige can be mediated by a proactive personality towards goal orientation.

The study has both academic and practical implications, showing that context-related factors are buffered by personal characteristics when professionals react to external events affecting their prestige.

The paper sheds lights on the critical issues of setting and achieving goals in uncertain situations, and enhances our understanding of the accounting profession, by identifying new reactions and behaviours based on personal factors as well as exogenous and contextual factors.

This study aims to analyze individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions from the perspective of motivational theory and examines the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on entrepreneurial intentions of male and female individuals.

Data were collected from students graduating from Pakistan’s largest university. A structural equation modeling technique was used for model testing.

Intrinsic factors such as intrinsic interest and community feeling aspiration and extrinsic factors such as perceived relative income and occupational prestige positively affect attitudes and, in turn, stimulate entrepreneurial intentions. Further, as intrinsic interest and perceived relative income scored higher among men, gender moderates those effects. Conversely, the entrepreneurial attitudes of women were primarily driven by community feeling aspiration. Notably, the positive effect of occupational prestige did not vary among men and women.

This paper explores the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the entrepreneurial intentions of men and women. The integration of motivational theory with gender provides insights into the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions in South Asia.

This study aims to understand essential work and occupational consequences of employees’ illegitimate task (ILT) experiences (unreasonable and unnecessary task demands) under the influence of vertical collectivist (VC) values.

Data were collected via a survey from 503 teachers in the Turkish public education sector. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings of this study reveal that unnecessary tasks decrease employees’ professional identification and perceived occupational prestige, whereas unreasonable tasks weaken their workplace well-being. Results also show that employees with higher VC orientation feel these adverse effects to a lesser extent.

This study demonstrates that individual-level cultural values play a significant role in understanding task-related dynamics and consequences at the workplace. It brings new theoretical insights to job design and work stress literature regarding what similar factors can mitigate task pressures on employees.

A key practical insight from the findings is that human resources management experts should create a positive task environment where ILT demands are not welcome by analyzing jobs and skill requirements in detail, communicating task decisions regularly with employees and providing them with the necessary work support.

Understanding the impact of ILT can greatly help to assess the quality of the education system and the value of teaching occupation in society.

ILT have been mainly discussed without considering the effect of different cultural orientations. This is the first study empirically showing the diverse effects of two ILT dimensions on essential occupational outcomes in connection to individual-level cultural influences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of race and social class on wage differentials between Black and White employees.

A survey with four possible conditions (white/black target who was lower/middle class) was used in the study to examine the interaction between race and social class on compensation decisions.

The paper finds that there was a significant interaction between race and social class when predicting the percentage of pay increase given to employees. Specifically, there was a significant negative correlation between perceptions of social class and percentage of increase when the target was Black, but there was no such correlation when the target was White.

The sample was 95.6 percent White and did not consist of managerial employees in actual compensation decisions; however, it shows evidence that people are affected by their perceptions of social class and race when making such decisions.

Policy makers should not forget that perceived social class might interact with race to influence discriminatory decisions in workplaces. This research suggests that Black employees who are perceived to be middle class are discriminated against more than those who are perceived to be lower class. Businesses need to be aware of unintentional biases that may be plaguing their managers and train them to avoid such biases.

This paper contributes new insight into the literature on the wage gap between Black and White employees by showing the interaction between race and perceived social class when predicting pay increases.

This study examines why and when nurses' role ambiguity leads to their work alienation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Survey data were collected from 335 hospital nurses in Ma’anshan, China. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.

Occupational disidentification mediated the relationship between role ambiguity and work alienation. This mediating effect was not significant when nurses possessed a high level of perceived climate of prioritizing COVID-19 infection prevention (PCIP).

To reduce nurses' work alienation in a pandemic situation, the hospital management team should pay attention to and try to minimize the nurses' role ambiguity and occupational disidentification. When doing so, the management team will find it particularly helpful if they can make nurses perceive a strong climate of PCIP.

This study contributes to the existing knowledge of role ambiguity and work alienation by highlighting occupational disidentification as a mediator after controlling for organizational identification in the context of COVID-19. It further demonstrates when the mediating role of occupational disidentification is likely to be strong or weak by studying the moderating effect of perceived climate of PCIP.

Examines the perceived occupational image of auditing among US college students and uncovers students’ attitudes towards auditing as a field of study and career. In addition, investigates background correlates of such images and attitudes. Discusses the implications of the findings for academics and practitioners.

This paper aims to explore the effects of two work related identification (occupational and organizational) of school teachers on intention to early retirement (withdrawal) and satisfaction with the occupation and satisfaction with the school. It also seeks the influence of perceived external prestige on withdrawal and satisfaction.

An empirical study was carried out at public schools in Canakkale, Turkey. Data collected from 238 teachers were analyzed. The correlations between identification and organizational prestige, desire for early retirement, and overall satisfaction of teachers were tested with several demographic variables such as age, gender, tenure and union membership. Ordinal logistic regression analysis (OLR) was conducted to reveal probabilistic behavior of response variables on the basis of explanatory variables.

The results show that both categories of identification have reverse effect on intention to early retirement, and both categories have positive effect on job satisfaction. Perceived external prestige has no effect on intention to early retirement and job satisfaction, but it increases satisfaction from the school. Finally, the “self” and the “occupation” were found salient categories for teachers' identification.

Identification literature has long been concentrated on organizational level identification. This paper explores the influence of both organizational and occupational categories of identification, comparatively. Being a teacher is seen as a prestigious occupation in Turkey. Findings about identity as a teacher also confirmed that “self” and “occupation” are two main identity references in the Turkish setting.

Key workers are deemed “essential” for keeping the country going while the rest of us have been resigned to the safety of our homes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, key workers have become the exalted symbol of the pandemic; although, during pre-pandemic many of these roles were considered “low skilled” and were (and still are) low paid.

The analysis uses newspapers as data sources to discuss occupational prestige and situate it within previous theory.

This social commentary discusses how occupational prestige evolves and devolves during times of social change, and how elevated status, dependent on one's service to the country in the spirit of a “war-time” narrative, is just temporary and fleeting. Prestige is wrapped up in notions of class, income and education, and during the pandemic, “key workers” have become their own sub-group with an almost mythologised status and value, which the authors argue might take the focus away from genuine efforts to improve working conditions (e.g. access to PPE and pay rises etcetera).

The article considers the current value of key workers and how elevated levels of prestige are transitory. The enduring nature of this new status is yet to be seen. More qualitative nuanced research is required around how occupational prestige changes, evolves and devolves and more quantitative research on why and how widespread some of the critical issues might be.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.