This study examines subjective occupational status and what factors influence and indicate subjective occupational status among employees in the municipal sector. The study also investigates if subjective occupational status has any significant connections with stress and worrying. The aim of this study is to examine if income, education, age, gender and length of employment has any significant effect on the subjective occupational status. We also aim to investigate if subjective occupational status affects the respondent’s levels of stress and worry. The material for the study was collected via a questionnaire with 268 respondents. The survey was done via the internet and sent out to the respondents via e-mail. We are utilizing the reference group theory in our analysis of the material. Reference group theory states that subjective social position is created by social comparison. Individuals tend to base their position in the social hierarchy and compare themselves with individuals who are similar to them. This leads to that many people places themselves as average. The results of the study show that it is only income which is affecting the subjective occupational status. We also found that subjective occupational status does not have any connections with stress apart from causing the respondents some worry over not having time to complete their work assignments.

Lojalitet gentemot arbetsgivare har tidigare ansetts vara en merit för anställda, medan det i dagens arbetsliv kan upplevas vara mer av en belastning. Lojala medarbetare får ofta en sämre löneutveckling och blir mindre attraktiva på arbetsmarknaden än de som med jämna mellanrum byter arbetsplats, vilket kan vara en orsak till att organisationer idag har problem med personalomsättningar där individer lämnar sina anställningar i snabbare takt än vad som förväntas. Detta ställer höga krav på organisationer att arbeta strategiskt med sitt personalarbete för att rekrytera rätt personal samt behålla dem. Studiens syfte var att undersöka varför vissa individer är mer benägna till att lämna sina organisationer än andra. Detta genomfördes genom att kvantitativt studera variablerna organisationsidentifikation, upplevd yrkesstatus och dess korrelation med individens intention att lämna sin organisation. Studien genomfördes i samarbete med Försvarsmakten och Skaraborgs regemente P4. Respondenterna i studien bestod av soldater från den 42:a mekaniserade bataljonen vilka samtliga tillhörde yrkeskategorin kontinuerligt anställda soldater. Resultatet visade signifikanta negativa samband mellan organisationsidentifikation och individens intention att lämna sin organisation (β=-.39, p=<.001) samt mellan yrkesstatus och intentionen att lämna sin organisation (β =-.35, p=<.001). Organisationsidentifikation hade även ett signifikant positivt samband med yrkesstatus (β =.34, p=<.001). Resultatet indikerar därmed på att organisationsidentifikation inte bara påverkar individens intention att lämna sin organisation, vilket även tidigare studier visat, utan att den även påverkar medarbetares upplevda yrkesstatus. Detta ger incitament till organisationer att aktivt arbeta med att öka sina anställdas organisationsidentifikation om yrkets status upplevs vara låg samt om personalomsättningen är för hög. / Loyalty towards the employer has been considered a merit in the past. In today'slabor, loyalty may instead be regarded as a burden on the loyal employee because he/she often gets lower wage and gets less attractive on the labor market than those who change jobs every once in a while. This may cause problems within the organizations, such as a high employee turnover where individuals leave their jobs in a faster pace than the organizations expect. This places high demands on organizations to work strategically with their Human Resources Department to recruit the right staff and retaining them in the organization. The purpose of this study was to examine why some individuals are more likely to leave their organizationsthan others. This was accomplished through measuring the variables organizational identification, perceived occupational status and its correlation with the intention to leave their organization. A quantitative survey was conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces. The respondents consisted of professional soldiers from Skaraborgs regiment serving in the 42nd mechanized battalion. The results showed significant negative correlations between organizational identification and intention to leave their organization (β=-.39,p=<.001), and perceived occupational status and intention to leave their organization (β =-.35,p=<.001). Organizational identification also had a significant positive association with perceived occupational status (β=.34, p=<.001). The results indicate that organizational identification affects not only the intention to leave their organization, which also has been shown by previous studies, but also employees' perceived occupational status. This provides incentives for organizations to work actively to increase their employees' organizational identification if the employee’s perceive a low occupational status and if the turnover rates are high.