Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine vocational identity formation of young adult workers from
the standpoint of workplace relatedness. “Workplace relatedness” was defined as the perception of
relationships between oneself and the others, focusing on relatedness in the workplace interpersonal
context. Seven young adult workers were interviewed to explore the structure of workplace relatedness,
from the individual’s point of view. Based on these results, a questionnaire was given to men and women
in their 20’s working at a various organizations in Japan (N = 208), in order to determine the influence of
workplace relatedness on vocational identity through formation factors (internalization, self-awareness,
openness to learning). The major findings were as follows: (1) workplace relatedness were constructed
by six factors (leadership, partnership, self-control, recreation, similarity, affinity); (2) leadership directly
influenced vocational identity; and (3) leadership, self-control, and similarity affected vocational identity
through self-awareness (reflection) and openness to learning (pursuing opportunity).
