Locus of control and self-efficacy in workers holding low-paying and low-skilled jobs

The study addresses the question of whether workers holding low-paying jobs requiring lower skills also possess weaker self-efficacy and external locus of control when compared to workers with higher paying jobs requiring higher skills. Both groups were selected from a chamber of commerce membership listing. Of the over 3,000 surveys mailed to potential participants, 91 instruments were completed. Separation of work categories between low paid/low skilled and high paid/high skilled workers was determined by the response to income and employment categories reported by participants. There was no significant difference between the work groups on either self-efficacy and locus of control. Attempts to search for relationships between the variables of age, education, climate of economy, and residency preferences did not offer much insight into participants' decision-making processes much beyond what is accepted in the literature. For instance, people in higher age brackets report more internal locus of control. No literature was found that addressed economical climate and a relationship between workers' job selection process and the constructs of self-efficacy and locus of control.