Occupational Commitment (Meyer, Allen & Smith)
HR & WorkReliability: alphas 0.74–0.85 across three components3 sample items
About this scale
An 18-item adaptation of the TCM to the occupation/profession target — affective, continuance, and normative commitment to one's occupation. Useful for studying career-versus-organization commitment trade-offs.
Sample item(s)
“I am proud to be in this profession. (affective)”
“Changing professions would be too costly for me right now. (continuance)”
“I would feel guilty if I left this profession. (normative)”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alphas 0.74–0.85 across three components. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Use to test whether organization-leaving and profession-leaving are conceptually distinct.
Source & citation
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993): Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 538–551.
Meyer, Allen & Smith (1993): Occupational commitment. JAP, 78(4), 538–551.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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