Multi-Item Scale:

Item Text:

English version:
H. If I were to lose or quit my current job, it would be easy for me to find a job of similar salary.

German version:
H. Wenn ich meinen jetzigen Job verlieren oder kündigen würde, wäre es für mich einfach, einen Job mit ähnlichem Gehalt zu finden.

Different Answer Format Tested:

Nein

Findings:

Cognitive Interviews:
Employees answer this question in clear relation to their qualification for the work they carry out now, and how well they can judge the situation on the job market:
  • “I am excellently qualified, and there are many employers I am attractive to” (DE01, “strongly agree”)
  • “I think I know by now, which areas I would have to look into, and know how to sell my profile. So with some thought and conscious applications, that should work” (DE07, „tend to agree“)
  • “I am not qualified, so I don’t have a certificate, in the job I work at. I taught myself this job, and I earn quite well at it. So I don’t believe another employer would accept my salary as it is” (DE05, “tend to disagree”)
  • “Actually, I am not 100% sure how good my qualification is for the work I do. I am very ambivalent about it“ (DE06, „neither agree nor disagree“)
Self-employed respondents have higher cognitive burden establishing situations that relate to the question, but they all find coherent answers.
  • A self-employed artist relates the idea of starting over with an employment that is different from the self-employed work she does:
    “If I really lost everything and didn’t have the chance to start over again in my job – that’s hard to imagine, but fine, let’s assume it. I don’t see how I should start over, I’m 53 years old. I don’t see real changes there” (DE02, “tend to disagree”)
  • A self-employed lawyer considers working employed in a firm again:
    “So, if I said, I’m done with being self-employed, and look for a job as an employed lawyer in a firm, that should work sooner or later” (DE08, “strongly agree”)
  • A doctor imagines starting a new practice as self-employed or joining a practice as an employed doctor:
    “That’s difficult, if you try to open a new practice altogether, you have to establish a new set of clients. Or, if I joined a practice, and had to prove myself. I think that wouldn’t be easy” (DE10, “strongly disagree”)
  • “I have not recently done any labour market research and I am not aware of the salaries for such a job” (PL01, “neither agree nor disagree”)
  • “If I lost the chance of running my business, I guess I would easily find a job as an architect. Considering my experience from my full time employment, and the income there, if I looked for a job with similar money, I would certainly find it.“ (PL10, “tend to agree”)

Recommendations:

No changes recommended.