Occupation refers to some kind of
work with which an individual becomes completely engaged. It denotes the
habitual employment, profession, craft or trade of an individual. It takes up
much of his time and attention. In modern connotations it means an instrument
of livelihood. It is usually associated with one or the other kind of
orgainsation; agriculture, industry, governmental organisation, etc.
People pursue one
occupation or other in order to eke out their livelihood. It has become an
essential feature of the modern economic life. Life without occupation or
profession of any kind is simply inconceivable today. The importance of
occupations is recognised by the sociologist and accordingly a branch of
sociology has emerged to deal with the phenomenon of occupation, the Sociology
of Occupations.
Classification of
Occupations:
Peter Berger has
suggested a threefold classification of occupation.
Firstly, there are
those occupations which provide some kind of Self-identification and satisfaction.
Ex: Professions like teaching, contracting, business, agriculture and craft or
artistic occupations.
Secondly, there are
tasks which are almost the exact opposite. They are seen as a direct threat to
person’s identity, reducing him to the status of “an appendage to a machine”.
Ex: The poorly paid occupations of labourers, who work in big factories,
industries, business firms, mining concerns, agricultural fields, coffee, tea,
rubber and such other estates, etc., represent such occupations.
Thirdly, there are
occupations regarded as neutral, that is, they are neither a direct threat to
one’s personal identity nor a major source of identity. Such occupations are
neither very hateful nor very pleasurable.
Ex: The occupations of
bankers, life insurance employees, high level government executives, clerks,
accountants, etc., which are prosaic and monotonous but fetching handsome salary,
represent such neutral occupations.
Berger argues that the
first two types have declined in modern society. It is also because, working
for large bureaucratic organisations results in a loss of personal freedom, and
secondly many unpleasant and routine tasks have been eliminated in modern
industry.
It is to be noted that
occupations have become very much diversified and complex today. The nature and
type of occupations go on changing in accordance with the change in the
industrial advancement.
The modern industrial
system has evolved through different stages like—
(1) the family economy,
(2)
the guild or handicraft system,
(3) domestic industry, and
(4) the modern
industrial or factory system (Capitalist or industrial economy). In all these
stages occupations differ significantly.
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