Ocupational values and professionalism in care work – an exploratory study

We have witnessed, in recent decades, the constant growth of the demand for professionals in the field of social assistance, physical rehabilitation, in health and psychotherapy, occupations that fall into the category of beneficiary-oriented services. Given the fact that, in Romanian public perception the identity of these occupational groups is still in the process of crystallization, I propose an analysis of their organizational activity, which is care work, from an axiological perspective. In order to do that, I first formulate an operational definition of the concept of professional value respecting Rokeach’s epistemological rigors: intuitiveness, taking into consideration the conceptual relationship between values, opinions and attitudes while avoiding circular or/and synonymous terms. Professional values can be understood as implicit dimensions of an occupational group culture. In caring professions, the professionalization process implies, in addition to the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills, the emergence of value systems with a normative role vis-à-vis professional activity. Comparing the content of deontological organizational documents, my aim is to help clarify the social identity of these occupations by identifying a set of common values.