“Honey, I lost my job today
I been driving around, that's why I'm late
Trying to figure out how to break the news
'Cause I hate the thought of disappointing you
Yeah, I can see the worry in your eyes
Maybe it's a blessing in disguise”
Honey I Lost My Job Today by LANCO (Click here for the song)
“Since the earliest roots of scholarship on work and work organizations (e.g., Parsons 1909), the concept of occupation has occupied an important role in understanding when, why, and how individuals behave, make choices, and hold particular attitudes and perceptions in workplace settings.”
Erich C. Dierdorff
What is an occupation and do they matter?
Participation in any occupation requires training, encompassing attitudes, behaviours, and thought processes. Artists think in terms of shapes, design, and perspective; engineers focus on logic, science, and mathematics; accountants prioritise law, ethics, and accuracy, and so forth. Researchers have suggested that occupations serve as an important backdrop against which individuals find unique meaning in their work and come to understand their organisational environments. Occupations also impact how individuals interact and communicate with others within organisations and across organisations. Occupations guide what people do, the values to which they adhere, and their social relationships and identities.
“Members of an occupation form an occupational community, or a “group of people who consider themselves to be engaged in the same sort of work; whose identity is drawn from the work; [and] who share with one another a set of values, norms and perspectives that apply to but extend beyond work””
Howard-Grenville, J., Nelson, A. J., Earle, A. G., Haack, J. A., & Young, D. M
Occupations develop unique cultures that shape beliefs about the purpose and control of work life. These occupational cultures interact with the larger organisational culture, sometimes creating cooperation and sometimes conflict, depending on factors like the group's power, size, and status within the organisation. Shared education, practices, and expertise strengthen each occupation's identity.
What is occupational destabilisation?
“We define occupational destabilization as the process through which a series of changes challenge the jurisdiction, principles, and/or value of an occupation, upsetting established practices and potentially members’ employment.”
Winnie Yun Jiang and Amy Wrzesniewski
There is a long history of research, dating back to the 1940s, on why and how occupations change. Sometimes, it is due to an external event, such as the introduction of new technology, changes in legislation, or competition from a newly emerging occupation. Other times, it is due to a visionary and opportunistic focus. Today’s work environment is shaped by the movement of talent and knowledge across industries and organisations. New technologies, regulations, competition from related fields, societal changes and organisational demands have necessitated shifts in the design of work and jobs and disrupted many occupations. By 2030, an estimated 75 to 375 million workers, or 3 to 14 per cent of the global workforce, may need to change jobs. Any disruption to an occupation makes it challenging for its members to stay relevant and exposes them to risks of identity threats or unemployment.
Researchers have found that members of occupations frequently resist and counter efforts to impose change on work practices, educational standards, or jurisdictional boundaries that stem from regulatory, technological, organisational, or other occupational shifts. When inexorable technological changes mechanise tasks and lead to “deskilling”, however, resistance is not an option. Although destabilisation might affect a job’s context, title, and tasks, there are many transferable elements in the fundamental approaches to problem-solving, as well as in customer and stakeholder management skills that individuals develop throughout their careers. The challenge, therefore, lies in thinking beyond traditional boundaries.
Recent research has examined how disruption and change affect professional careers. Researchers found that individuals' reactions to occupational instability are closely tied to their beliefs about the purpose and importance of their work. Researchers have found that job loss, when combined with occupational destabilisation, often requires adapting long-standing work practices, leading to inevitable changes in skills and one’s connection to the work. Regular readers know that job loss can greatly impact well-being, affecting people emotionally, psychologically, and physically. Reactions vary some feel it hurts their identity and self-esteem, while others see it as a chance for a fresh start. Viewing job loss as a result of market forces rather than personal failure can reduce stress. Support from peers in similar situations can also help, making the experience less isolating and allowing for a more positive outlook.
Studies have found that a person’s ability to cope with occupational disruption depends on whether they see their work skills as fixed or adaptable. Some people view their tasks as meaningful only in their current job, making them feel less useful in other roles. Others believe these skills can be valuable elsewhere, making it easier to transition to new occupations. When people feel their occupation is no longer viable but see their skills as transferable, they are more likely to reinvent their careers and carry their skills into new roles.
Occupational disruption can be a tough experience, causing sadness and loss as people deal with changes to their careers. When this sadness and fear are intense, individuals may hold on desperately to their remaining jobs. However, research shows that those who view their skills as adaptable are more accepting of changes in their occupation. This acceptance helps reduce negative emotions and fosters hope, giving them the energy to move forward and explore new career and job opportunities.
“Research suggests that the more strongly and exclusively one defines oneself in terms of a particular identity, the more difficult it is to exit that identity and the greater the risk of deleterious consequences such as anomie and depression (Ashforth, 2001; e.g., Baillie & Danish, 1992). In the case of occupations and careers, however, two factors may mitigate these issues.
First, an occupation and career can be framed at a fairly abstract level, like entrepreneur, which can be instantiated in diverse ways, such as realtor, bar owner, and landscaper (C. D. Moore & Robinson, 2006). This potential for abstraction provides more flexibility for realizing a valued identity.
Second, rather than frame an occupation or career as a role or a series of roles—however abstract—one can focus on change, growth, flexibility, openness, and learning as an identity in itself (Ashforth, 2007).
Concepts such as the protean self (Lifton, 1993), meta-competencies (Hall, 2004), and ongoing vocational exploration (Flum & Blustein, 2000) refer to a willingness and ability to explore, to learn how to learn, to develop a repertoire of possible selves and identity narratives, and to embrace novelty and change—in short, to view oneself as an adaptive individual.”
Ashforth, B.E., Harrison, S.H. and Corley, K.G. 2008.
Final thoughts
When a leader views work through the lens of occupations at the individual, team, and organisational levels, it offers a fresh perspective on people management strategies and fosters a culture of flexible thinking.
“Yeah, I know we'll find a way
I'm gonna find a way
Gonna find a way
Honey, I lost my job today
But I got a funny feeling it'll be okay'
Cause it already hurts a little less to say
Honey, I lost my job today”
Honey I Lost My Job Today by LANCO (Click here for the song)
References:
Dierdorff, E.C. (2019). Toward Reviving an Occupation with Occupations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6(1), pp.397–419. doi:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015019.
Jiang, W. Y., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2023). Perceiving Fixed or Flexible Meaning: Toward a Model of Meaning Fixedness and Navigating Occupational Destabilization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 68(4), 1008-1055. https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392231196062
Howard-Grenville, J., Nelson, A. J., Earle, A. G., Haack, J. A., & Young, D. M. (2017). “If Chemists Don’t Do It, Who Is Going To?” Peer-driven Occupational Change and the Emergence of Green Chemistry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 62(3), 524-560. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839217690530
Ashforth, B.E., Harrison, S.H. and Corley, K.G. (2008). Identification in Organizations: An Examination of Four Fundamental Questions. Journal of Management, [online] 34(3), pp.325–374. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308316059.
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