Abstract

Theoretical approaches in studies on professionals are implicitly based on an assumption of homogeneity of attitudes among professionals. However, this assumption has never been validated. This paper examines whether professionals worldwide have relatively homogenous attitudes towards work as compared to non-professionals, and compares two competing theoretical arguments regarding the role of the state in shaping professionals’ work-related attitudes. These were tested using a multi-national representative sample of 12,015 respondents from twenty-one countries. Multilevel models showed that professionals do display more homogenous attitudes than non-professionals and that the effect of professional group membership on attitudes does not vary across countries.

Key words: Work attitudes, homogeneity, institutional theory, globalization, multilevel model.