Occupation Insecurity Scale: Russian-Language Adaptation and Validation

The article explores the phenomenon of occupation insecurity as a new form of uncertainty in social and labor relations. The term “occupation insecurity” refers to the likelihood of a profession disappearing or undergoing significant transformation due to the influence of emerging technologies such as automation, implementation of robotics, and artificial intelligence. The psychological aspect of this concept concerns how professionals experience and interpret threats to their occupation posed by new technologies. However, appropriate psychodiagnostics tools for assessing the psychological aspects of occupation insecurity have not yet been developed in Russian-language psychology. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to adapt and validate the Occupation Insecurity Scale by L. Roll, H. De Witte and H.-J. Wang, which measures occupational insecurity as a psychological phenomenon. The study sample comprised of 577 employees (48% male) from various occupational groups, aged between 20 to 50 years ( m = 33 years). To categorize the professional affiliations of participants, we used E.A. Klimov’s occupational typology. The Russian-language version of the Occupation Insecurity Scale includes 8 items and divided into two subscales: “Anxiety about the occupation’s future” and “Expectation of the occupation’s content changes”. Confirmatory factor analysis results justified the selection of two subscales (as in the original), indicating the scale’s structural validity. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and test-retest reliability (Spearman’s ρ correlation coefficient) of the subscales were tested. Сonvergent validity was confirmed through significant positive correlations between occupational insecurity and perceived career development barriers. External validity was established by showing that workers’ perceptions and experiences of occupation insecurity differ according to occupation type. In particular, significant differences were found between individuals in “Human - Human” and “Human - Sign” occupations. The content of the adapted scale can be interpreted within the framework of individual employment crises (occupation loss and qualification mismatch). The findings can be applied in discussions regarding technological threats to occupations and strategies for adaptation.