Attitudes toward work of employed and unemployed adults

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if the Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) (Alfano, 1973) can be utilized on a metropolitan study sample, to determine if there is a difference in work attitudes due to membership in an adult employment group and lastly, to determine if demographic variables influence work attitudes of adult employment group members.

The sample for this study consisted of employed and unemployed adults from the Richmond Metropolitan Area of Richmond, Virginia. A sample was selected that consisted of the 203 adults. Adults in the sample were later classified as either currently employed (full-time hourly industrial workers), temporarily unemployed (unemployed for 6 months or less), or chronically unemployed (unemployed for more than 6 months).

The Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) and the Personal Data Sheet (PUS) were the two instruments used to collect data. Statistical techniques used to analyze the data included factor analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and a multiple regression approach. Two research hypotheses were addressed as well as two corollary hypotheses for statistical significance.

The study findings were: (1) There were no significant differences in the work attitudes of employed and unemployed adult groups. (2) Only the demographic variable of income was found to predict attitudes toward work. Those with lower incomes had a more positive attitude toward work than those with higher incomes. Also, the Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) (Alfano, 1973) can be utilized to assess work attitudes of a large metropolitan population.