Occupational Culture
We all work under a set of assumptions that arise from our job role
Anybody who studies organizational culture should be aware of Edgar Schein (no, that is not Edgar Schein in the above picture, that is Bill Lumberg, played by actor Gary Cole in the movie, Office Space). Schein is considered the basal author on this topic. His book, aptly named Organizational Culture and Leadership, set the foundations for many corporate consulting careers. Western culture is bound to organized activity, and we all have experienced the effects of corporate culture for good or for bad.
What struck me during my PhD research on a parallel topic was Schein’s foundation for organizational culture. He called it “occupational culture.” He originally noted three types (operator, executive, and engineering). Since then, others have studied specific occupations and developed lists of traits common to them.
Each profession develops its own lore, expectations, mores and assumptions. If you want to have a little fun exploring this, I came across this website, Democrat and Republican Occupations that highlights how the lines fall in a number of occupations. It highlights how occupations influence some political viewpoints. There are a few outliers in this list - check out Episcopal Priest versus Catholic Priest.
One of my favorite studies was by a researcher looking at IT professionals (the study can be found here). It highlights a couple of interesting observations about IT professionals like these:
Frequent use of unique technical knowledge, jargon, and vocabulary as a means of establishing group identity, maintaining boundaries between groups, and excluding out-group members
Physical settings involving electronic equipment and disorder as signals of group membership
Unique and shared stories about the history of information technology as a means of identifying members, validating membership and as a form of intra-group bonding
I worked in IT, and I found the descriptions given in the study to be true. I also note that IT professionals have:
A shared sense of satisfaction about helping others with technology that supports and justifies the importance of the occupation
That is a great attribute for somebody doing IT work to have!
Religious organizations are, in my view, subject to even stronger forces of organizational (and hence, occupational) culture than corporations or secular organizations. The spiritual dynamic allows for a broad yielding of power in unique ways in religious organizations. Pastors, youth pastors, missionaries, and other ministry roles have strong occupational cultures that can be studied.
Way back in 2010 I did a research project on the occupational culture of missionaries. The following six attributes emerged:
A high commitment level motivated by a sense of purpose and manifesting itself in sacrifice
A spiritual worldview reflected by an emphasis on prayer, the authority of Scripture, and a commitment to a strong devotional life
An insider/outsider paradigm as it relates to the specific context in which the missionary works
A view that experience matters; mature, seasoned missionaries are the ones with the greatest credibility and potential for success
An embrace of autonomy and independence, often manifested in terminology like “field led” and “decentralization”
A deep suspicion of institutionalization which is directed at both the local church in the culture they are reaching as well as toward their own organization
These six attributes are affirmed in many ways. Some are helpful, and some might limit learning from outside one’s own domain. Some make common sense (experience matters) but others are head scratchers (why the suspicion directed at institutions?).
As you look over these, have you found them to be true? How about the role you play? In what ways are assumptions about your occupation driving the way you view your work?