a) I am willing to work harder than I normally have to in order to meet the very highest demands of my profession. [Ich bin bereit, härter zu arbeiten als ich normalerweise muss, um die allerhöchsten Anforderungen an meinen Beruf zu erfüllen.]
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Item Text:
a) I am willing to work harder than I normally have to in order to meet the very highest demands of my profession. [Ich bin bereit, härter zu arbeiten als ich normalerweise muss, um die allerhöchsten Anforderungen an meinen Beruf zu erfüllen.]
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Recommendations:
We recommend adding the word "current" to this statement (see item b) to make it clear that the statement refers to current and not former employment. We also recommend that the word "highest" be softened somewhat and replaced by "highest". Furthermore, it should be made clearer what is meant by "demands on my profession". Finally, we propose to place the subordinate clause at the beginning of the sentence to prevent it from being ignored when answering the item (see battery of questions 5). A possible formulation would be:
“In order to perform my professional duties in the best possible way, I am willing to work harder than I normally have to.“
[„Um meine beruflichen Aufgaben bestmöglich zu erfüllen, bin ich bereit, härter zu arbeiten als ich normalerweise muss.“]
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Findings:
In each case five test persons agree (or strongly agree) with the statement and disagree. Three test persons (TP 03, TP 04, TP 15) answer "neither nor" and two test persons "don’t know" (TP 05, TP 08).
Three of the test persons who answer "neither nor" or "don’t know" (TP 04, TP 05, TP 08) justify their answer by stating that it is unclear to them what the question is aimed at or what is meant by the "all-highest occupational requirements:
- “I don't understand the question. What does that mean?" (TP 04)
- “I'm already thinking about what that means. What exactly does that mean, "to meet the highest standards in my profession"? A pilot has to fly people or cargo from A to B and if he doesn't meet his highest requirements, he flies from Berlin to New York and then only to Madrid?“ (TP 05)
- “I keep thinking about it because I don't really understand it. I'm just trying to combine "working harder than I normally have to." I should be able to meet the requirements anyway. I can't say that I do. I don't really understand the context.“ (TP 08)
Test person 02 misunderstands the question and misinterprets the term "requirements" as an "order" or "work instruction": "If I don't do this, it's a refusal to work. So I have to do it." (TP 02).
Three test persons (TP 07, TP 11, TP 12) state that the formulation "highest" requirements is a little exaggerated, which is why they tend to tone down their answer and indicate that they agree with the statement to a lesser extent:
- „The "very highest"? (laughs). The "very highest" thing has a negative connotation for me here. It makes me think about the fact that you do that and then you drop dead because you have met the "very highest" requirements. I am definitely willing to work harder, but nobody can really meet the "highest" requirements.” (TP 07, disagree)
- „I find it a bit excessive to meet the "very highest" requirements of my profession. I wouldn't do that. "Neither" or "don't agree" wouldn't fit either. So I'm willing to work harder than I normally have to in order to meet the demands of my profession. But for the "very highest" requirements, I would not agree.” (TP 11, agree)
- „To meet the "very highest" requirements? So sometime is good, you can't do more than work." (TP 12, disagree)
When asked whether the respondents had thought about their job, profession or company/organization when answering the statement, four respondents (TP 02, TP 07, TP11, TP 12) stated that they had thought about their company/organization. The remaining 11 test persons referred to their current activity or their learned occupation corresponding to their current activity when answering the item (as intended by the questionnaire developers). Only respondent 10 refers (erroneously) to their learned occupation when answering this item, which however does not correspond to their current activity.
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Question Topic:
Job and career/ Job motivation & attitudes
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Construct:
Connection with profession
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Yes
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b) I am proud to work in my current profession. [Ich bin stolz darauf, in meinem derzeitigen Beruf zu arbeiten.]
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Item Text:
b) I am proud to work in my current profession. [Ich bin stolz darauf, in meinem derzeitigen Beruf zu arbeiten.]
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Recommendations:
No changes recommended.
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Findings:
The majority of the test persons (n = 11) agree or strongly agree with this statement. Two test persons (TP 01, TP 09) answer with "neither nor" and two further test persons with "disagree" (TP 05, TP 10).
Test person 05 justifies her "disagree" answer with her rejection of the term "pride": "I am happy to work in my company and do my job well and with pleasure. But proud? Pride is something I personally don't know that much about anyway. I would be proud if I did something more noble, e.g. animal rescuers, doctors, rescue services, they really do save people. Or development aid." (TP 05).
Three test persons (TP 02, TP 03, TP11) state that they thought of their company/organization and not of their current activity as intended when answering this statement. The remaining 12 test persons said that they were thinking about their current job or (identical) learned profession. Only test person 15 refers (erroneously) to her learned occupation when answering the item, which however does not correspond to her current activity.
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Question Topic:
Job and career/ Job motivation & attitudes
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Construct:
Connection with profession
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Yes
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c) I would turn down another, better-paid job to stay in my calling. [Ich würde eine andere, besser bezahlte Stelle ablehnen, um in meinem Beruf zu bleiben.]
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Item Text:
c) I would turn down another, better-paid job to stay in my calling. [Ich würde eine andere, besser bezahlte Stelle ablehnen, um in meinem Beruf zu bleiben.]
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Recommendations:
We recommend avoiding the negative wording "reject" in this statement, as this causes difficulties in using the response scale. A possible reformulation would be:
"I would retain my current occupation even if I were offered another, better-paid position."
[„Ich würde meine derzeitige berufliche Tätigkeit beibehalten, auch wenn man mir eine andere, besser bezahlte Stelle anbieten würde.“]
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Findings:
The majority of the test persons (n = 8) disagree (strongly) with this statement. However, as with question 5, it became clear from the questions of the test directors that one test person (TP 13) had ticked a "wrong" answer due to the negatively formulated item and the associated difficulty in expressing with the answer scale that he/she would like to continue in his/her current job and actually wanted to answer "agree" instead of "disagree": "I would not agree with this question (that I would change) because I actually like my job very much and would possibly perform it in another company. But I didn't want to do something else arbitrarily." (TP 13, disagree).
Test person 01 also states that due to the negative wording he had difficulties in answering the statement: "I found it difficult to answer. I had to think about which answer I had to mark with a cross to say what I meant." (TP 01).
The test persons 02 ("Don’t know") and 15 ("Neither nor") justify their answers, as (partly) already in question 5, by the fact that it depends on the respective circumstances whether one would refuse such a position or not. Several factors (and not only payment) would play a role here:
- “That depends on what I'm offered. There's more than just money involved.“ (TP 02)
- “Money is not the decisive point for a change of job. There are several factors. Money is only one of them.“ (TP 15)
Three respondents (TP 06, TP 13, TP 14) stated that they did not know whether the statement referred to the current occupation or the current job:
- “Does "profession" here mean the position, i.e. the job? Because you can have another job in the same profession? Here I asked myself whether one takes the better paid job but leaves the profession or whether one takes a better paid job but stays in the profession? That is unclear. I have now referred more to the second interpretation. I would like to do this job, if it were a completely different job now, I wouldn't do it, it's something else." (TP 06)
- “I found the answer to statement c) rather difficult. What is meant by "another, better paid job" as opposed to "to stay in my job"? By "not staying in my job" I would now imagine, for example, a complete change of job. I wouldn't agree with this question, because I really like my job very much and would like to work in another company if necessary. But I didn't want to do something arbitrary.“ (TP 13)
- “After all, this is about my job, not the position I'm holding right now?“ (TP 14)
In answering this statement, a total of four test persons (TP 07, TP 08, TP 11, TP 12) again stated that they had thought about their company/organization and not about their current job as intended.
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Question Topic:
Job and career/ Job motivation & attitudes
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Construct:
Connection with profession
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Yes
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