Reflections on: “So… What Do You Do?” Occupation and the Construction of Identity

BACKGROUND: What we do has always played a leading part in social conversations about who we are. In part, these social questions are about occupational identity. PURPOSE AND METHOD: Occupational identity is an emerging concept in the occupational therapy literature. In this paper, the concept of occupational identity is examined through the observations of a former research participant in a previous study on the meaning of gardens and gardening in daily life, and the recent work of researchers in occupational therapy and occupational science. RESULTS: Three themes are examined in these reflections. They are occupation and continuity of occupational identity, the contributions of productivity, leisure and self-care to occupational identity and, the public and private aspects of occupational identity. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Exploration with a client about what occupations are most meaningful in her or his life may be a means to understanding the person's construction of an occupational identity. Understanding the nature of the client's occupational identity may be a necessary beginning to developing a collaborative approach to what is needed in occupational therapy intervention.