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Work Ability Self-Perception Scale3

Work Ability Self-Perception Scale Test

Understand how confident you feel about keeping or finding a job in just 3 minutes. Get a quick snapshot to guide coaching, HR decisions, and track progress over time.

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Questions: 113 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

17,199 views

2,103 completions

1,841 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

9/20

Occupational Value (OV)

Assesses how meaningful and in-demand a person perceives their profession or role to be in their organization and the wider labor market.

Low perceived value

Moderate perceived value

High perceived value

4 – 9: Low perceived value | 10 – 15: Moderate perceived value | 16 – 20: High perceived value

A score of 9 suggests a lower perceived value of the profession, indicating the person tends to view their role as less meaningful or less in demand.

example score

9/15

Self-Appraisal (SA)

Measures how confidently an employee evaluates their professional competence and perceived importance of their role in the organization.

Low

Moderate

High

3 – 7: Low | 8 – 11: Moderate | 12 – 15: High

A score of 9 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a generally adequate but not strongly pronounced confidence in professional abilities and role significance.

example score

24/35

External Labor Market Employability (ELME)

Measures how confident a person feels about finding a job outside their current organization in the external labor market.

Low confidence

Moderate confidence

High confidence

7 – 16: Low confidence | 17 – 26: Moderate confidence | 27 – 35: High confidence

A score of 24 falls in the Moderate confidence range, suggesting a generally positive but not fully assured view of being competitive and employable in the external job market.

example score

6/20

Internal Employability (IE)

Measures confidence in being able to find or keep a position within one’s current organization.

Low confidence

Moderate confidence

High confidence

4 – 9: Low confidence | 10 – 14: Moderate confidence | 15 – 20: High confidence

A score of 6 falls in the Low confidence range, suggesting limited perceived ability to secure or retain employment within the current organization.

example score

45/55

Work Ability Self-Perception (WASP)

Measures how positively a person perceives their ability to obtain, keep, and succeed in employment across internal and external job markets.

Low perceived work ability

Moderate perceived work ability

High perceived work ability

11 – 25: Low perceived work ability | 26 – 40: Moderate perceived work ability | 41 – 55: High perceived work ability

A score of 45 falls in the High perceived work ability range, suggesting strong confidence in professional capabilities and employment prospects.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Job Seekers in Transition

41%OF USERS

People actively looking for a new role use it to gauge how confident they feel about competing in the external job market.

Employees Evaluating Stability

34%OF USERS

Working professionals take it to understand how secure they feel in their current position and how employable they would be if changes happen.

HR and Career Coaches

25%OF USERS

Specialists use it with clients or employees to quickly identify low employability confidence and track shifts after support or training.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

The Value of the Profession (TVotP)

Average

12.8

Normal range

10.2 — 15.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Self-Esteem (S)

Average

Normal range

9.4 — 12.7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Ability to find employment in the external job market (Atfeitejm)

Average

14.1

Normal range

9.5 — 18.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Ability to secure employment within the organization (Atsewto)

Average

Normal range

6.3 — 11.7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Self-Perception of Work Ability Scale (SoWAS)

Average

30.2

Normal range

24.8 — 35.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 11 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Work Ability Self-Perception Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

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This brief self-report measure assesses perceived capacity to obtain, maintain, or sustain employment and confidence in one’s labor-market prospects. The Work Ability Self-Perception Scale is used to characterize an individual’s appraisals of employability and work-related self-efficacy in relation to their current role and broader job market.

It consists of 11 items and typically requires about 3 minutes to complete. Items ask respondents to rate perceived competitiveness, likelihood of securing alternative employment if needed, and perceived stability within a current position, supporting use in vocational assessment, workforce research, and counseling contexts. Scoring is generally interpreted as an index of perceived work ability rather than an objective measure of skills or job performance.

The Work Ability Self-Perception Scale is attributed to Tuomo Ilmarinen and is most appropriately interpreted alongside relevant occupational history, current work demands, and contextual factors affecting employment opportunities.

Author: Tuomo Ilmarinen

Literature: Ilmarinen, J. The work ability index. Occupational Medicine. 2007.