Occupational Prestige in Turkey in the Framework of Transforming Working Life
Lütfi SunarOccupation is central to the study and understanding of modern society. Today, it is possible to deal with many social problems, such as education, economy, urbanization, stratification through professions. Especially in the post-industrial societies that witnessed a rapid change in the economic structure, evaluations about the social meaning and importance of the professions are of great importance. Sociology of occupations and professions in the world at all times is critical, although it was underestimated in Turkey. Neither theoretical and applied studies on the subject have been developed nor necessary conceptual and social analysis. This article is based on quantitative research conducted within the rural-urban representative sample across Turkey in 2019-2020. With this research, the occupational prestige scale that was built in 2015 has been renewed. In this paper, I am analyzing the determinants and factors of occupational prestige in Turkey. On the other hand, one of the main focuses of the paper is to discuss the change in prestige scores of occupations in the context of business and working life. As a result, to build a set of indicators for occupational and professional life, will be the main aim of this paper.
Türkiye’de Mesleki İtibar: Dönüşen Çalışma Hayatı ve Mesleklerin Sosyal Konumu
Lütfi SunarMeslek modern toplumun incelenmesinde ve anlaşılmasında merkezi bir yere sahip bir olgudur. Günümüzde eğitim, ekonomi, kent, tabakalaşma gibi çok sayıda sosyal meseleyi meslekler üzerinden ele almak mümkündür. Özellikle iktisadi yapıda hızlı bir değişmeye sahne olan sanayi sonrası bilgi toplumlarında mesleklerin sosyal anlam ve önemleri hakkındaki değerlendirmeler ciddi bir önem arz etmektedir. Dünya sosyolojisinde mesleklerin her daim çok önemli bir araştırma alanı olmasında mukabil Türkiye’de meslek konusunun yeterince ele alındığını söylemek güçtür. Konu ile ilgili tarihsel, güncel, teorik ve uygulamalı araştırmaların ve gerekli kavramsal zeminin veri yapısının mevcut olmadığı görülmektedir. Türkiye çapında temsili kır-kent örneklemi dahilinde yürütülen nicel araştırmanın verilerine dayanan bu yazıda mesleki itibar skalası incelenmektedir. Yazıda mesleklerin itibarının değişimi, mesleki itibarın belirleyicileri Türkiye’de iş ve çalışma hayatındaki değişimler ışığında ele alınmaktadır. Makalede 2019-2020 yıllarında yürütülen Türkiye Çalışma Hayatı ve Meslekler araştırmasından elde edilen veriler ışığında Türkiye’deki mesleki itibarın durumu ve değişimi ele alınmıştır. Oluşturulan mesleki itibar skalası ve mesleki itibarın belirleyicileri ile ilgili analizler bize mesleklerin sosyal boyutu ile ilgili çok önemli bilgiler sunmaktadır. Böylece mesleklerin sosyal konumunu, işlevini ve değerini ölçmek için önemli bir araç ve gösterge seti oluşturulmuştur.
Sociological research on occupations and professions in Turkey is in its infancy. It is not possible to find consistent and continuous data about occupations in nationwide surveys by relevant institutions such as TURKSTAT, Ministry of Labor, and SGK. On the other hand, data on the occupational structure of working life in Turkey is not fully available. Also, we do not have sufficient, standard, traceable, and reliable data regarding the components of professions, such as average earnings, education, gender, and age. Besides, professional associations and chambers do not have sufficient information and data about the relevant occupations. Despite an increase in qualitative research in recent years, the literature is not enough to feed new analysis.
Occupations have vital importance in determining the social status and identity of individuals in daily life and an essential place in the formation and reformation of the social structure. The profession of a person is determined by some personal and social factors. The individual characteristics, education, and gender are personal factors, while the socio-economic status of the family is the most influential factor. On the other hand, occupation affects one’s income, social authority, and prestige at a high level. Therefore, occupations and professions have a central place in the analysis of the social structure. As discussed above, today, professions are of fundamental importance in these aspects. The research in this field will be helpful for the development of sociological studies in Turkey.
This article is based on quantitative field research conducted in years 2019-2020 in Turkey, on working life and occupations, under the support of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. This paper analyses the occupational prestige scale and the change in the scores of each occupation in light of the data obtained from this research. The updated occupational prestige scale and analysis of the determinants of occupational prestige provide us with essential information regarding the social dimension of the professions. Thus, a valuable tool has been created to measure the social status, function, and value of the professions.
The occupational prestige has been extensively analyzed within the framework of socio-cultural and demographic components. In this sense, the change in working life and jobs has also been discussed widely in the context of occupational prestige. As we see, the prestige and status of professions in Turkey are highly correlated with the general economic trend. Especially, growth and recession periods in the economy create critical changes in unemployment and sectoral structures. In addition, another critical issue is the disconnection between education and business life in Turkey. The education system does not train the people needed by employment and labor markets. For this reason; there is a high rate of educated youth unemployment. These problems, in particular, cause negative feelings about occupations and working life.
The participants were asked to score the prestige of 133 professions in their eyes from 1 to 100. As a result, it is seen that the scoring rate of the professions is very high. After collecting the answers related to each profession, various statistical tests were performed according to these scores and whether the answers were healthy or not was tested. According to the average scores, a professional prestige scale was created. Subsequently, the professions included in this scale were subjected to cross analysis according to variables such as age, education, gender, income, and employment status. In addition, the prestige of the professions was handled comparatively with the research conducted in 2015.
The prestige scores of each occupation are ranked in a certain logic. The prestige scores of the occupations which have a good income, require a good education, have a job guarantee, have a high authority level, and performed at a desk in office environments, are higher. There is a close relationship between prestige and earnings. “Good wages” come first among the qualities sought in a good job in Turkey as in the rest of the world. Therefore, it is expected that professions with high earnings will be at the top in the rankings. However, the fact that a qualified and long education is required to achieve the prestigious works which have good earning. Non-manual works have more prestige than manual works. Among the non-manual works, those that people encounter in daily life frequently have higher scores. Similarly, the prestige of occupations with job guarantee is generally higher. One of the essential factors that determine the occupational prestige is working style. If a job requires physical dirtiness, its place on the scale falls. So-called “clean works” have higher prestige scores. This is also closely related to the separation of manual and non-manual labor in the post-industrial society.
As a result, an ideal profession in society is expected to have a good wage, non-manual work and regular working hours and a comfortable working environment.
