Exploring Extrinsic and Intrinsic Work Values of British Ethnic Minorities: The Roles of Demographic Background, Job Characteristics and Immigrant Generation

Despite the increasingly diverse ethnic composition of the British labor force, there is no research investigating whether ethnic minorities have different work values from the White British demographic (White British). Using nationally representative data (2012–2013), this article fills this gap by comparing extrinsic and intrinsic work values between White British and five ethnic minorities, while distinguishing between first and second generations. The results show that both first- and second- generation minorities have stronger extrinsic work values than White British, but the ethnic differences are more pronounced for the second generations. Compared to White British, while first-generation minorities have weaker intrinsic work values, the second generations have stronger intrinsic work values. Differences in extrinsic work values are partly explained by differences in age, education and income, while differences in intrinsic work values are largely explained by age, education and job autonomy. These results hold significant implications for understanding the career choices of ethnic minorities and labor market outcomes.

Do values reflect what is important? Exploring the nexus between work values, work engagement and job burnout

Purpose Work values are a representation of people’s priorities as they reflect what is pertinent for them and what they want to accomplish. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to understand the priorities given to work values (extrinsic and intrinsic) by employees and also to explore whether these work values vary with the levels of work engagement and job burnout. Design/methodology/approach The study was based on the survey responses of 386 officers working in Indian manufacturing organisations engaged in different areas. Findings The findings reveal that security officers give much priority to extrinsic work values than intrinsic work values (IWVs). Moreover, IWVs vary with different levels of work engagement along with job burnout. The security officers belonging to the engaged group differ significantly with those belonging to the job burnout group in terms of IWVs. Moreover, work values also have a negative correlation with job burnout and a positive correlation with work engagement. Originality/value This study explores the variation in work values of security officers working in Indian manufacturing organisations with changes in levels of job burnout and work engagement, which is a novel contribution in the field. The findings also advocate that it is crucial for human resource managers, supervisors and key people in organisations to find out employees showing early signs of job burnout (exhaustion or disengagement) or early stages of strain and frustration as the priorities of work values of the employees are affected by these parameters. Such identified employees should be provided with required managerial support and necessary work resources immediately.

Is There a New Meaning of Work? The How and Why of a Change in Altruistic Work Values in Germany between 1989 and 2016Date submitted: July 11, 2018 Revised version accepted after double-blind review: February 11, 2019.

This study complements the discussion on changes in work values by insights about the dimension of altruistic work values, which to date has been largely neglected. In particular, we analyze how a change in the structure of the workforce (gender, age, and generation) has affected the importance of altruistic work values in the past decades. Using German data from four different years (1989, 1997, 2006, and 2016), we found that work values’ importance has increased during the observed periods, while extrinsic work values have become less important and intrinsic work values have not changed. An increase of women and an aging workforce marginally have contributed to a change in altruistic work values, while shifting generational distribution had no effect. Overall, the explanatory powers of the included determinants are, despite their importance in theoretical discussions, fairly small. Thus, we discuss alternatives for explaining the change in altruistic work values.

Transmission of Work Attitudes and Values: Comparisons, Consequences, and Implications

Are attitudes toward work and perceptions of the benefits of work transmitted from parents to youth similarly across a variety of cultural contexts? What determines the centrality of work to one’s life? How are intrinsic work values (intangible rewards such as autonomy, learning opportunities, and self-fulfillment) and extrinsic work values (such as status, income, and financial safety) shaped; and how do these work attitudes have consequences in the political, economic, and well-being domains? Are the determinants of work values robust across countries, and do the consequences of having certain work values differ by country? These research questions guide this issue of The ANNALS. This introductory article clarifies key concepts underlying the volume and provides an overview of the data sources and analytic approaches addressed in the individual contributions. Most importantly, we provide a broad theoretical framework with notions from various disciplines aimed at giving readers a fuller grasp of the multifaceted significance of work values.

Gendered Intergenerational Transmission of Work Values? A Country Comparison

In this study, we examine two research questions: Are the work values of young people determined by the work values of their parents? Is the transmission of work values conditioned by the young adults’ gender? We use original survey data for respondents aged 18–35 and their parents in Denmark, Germany, Turkey, and the UK to explore these questions. Our findings reveal a robust pattern: in all four countries and for all four types of work values we measure, young adults’ work values are strongly influenced by their parents’ work values. We also find a gender effect among German respondents: work plays a more central role in the lives of young men than in the lives of young women. Gender helps to explain attitudes toward female labor force participation in all of the countries we studied, and we find no evidence that gender conditions the effect of the intergenerational transmission of work values except for in the UK, where gender does condition the effect of family attitudes on young peoples’ extrinsic work values and their views on work centrality.

The Effect of Unemployment and Low-Quality Work Conditions on Work Values: Exploring the Experiences of Young Europeans

This article examines the impact that unemployment and low-quality work conditions have on young adults’ work values. Academic theory suggests that harsher economic conditions will make people prize extrinsic work values (income, security) more and intrinsic work values (creative, independent working conditions, autonomy) less. We apply this reasoning to study young Europeans’ response to unemployment and low-quality work conditions, expecting that those who have these experiences will value extrinsic values more and intrinsic work values less than those who do not have these experiences. Using the CUPESSE dataset of 18- to 35-year-olds in eleven European countries, we do not find support for the effect of previous unemployment experience on intrinsic or extrinsic work values. However, when it comes to the effect of low-quality work conditions, there are mixed results. We find that one dimension of low-quality work conditions—overqualification—does have a positive effect on extrinsic work values. Further, we find that age has a moderating effect: unemployment and low-quality work conditions have a larger impact on the younger workers in our sample than their older counterparts.

Work values of generation Y

There are about 38.83% of Indonesian workforces who are include in generation Y and this is more than the number of the other generations. The rush of global markets will create a new management approach that includes the generation Y’s interest on work aspects. So, this study aims to analyze the differences of generation Y’s work values based on gender and work status. The study also explores which predictors variable that has the strongest discriminant for generation Y’s work values based on gender and works status. The number of the sample used in this research is 137 Millennial by using nonprobability sampling. This study uses discriminant analysis with the help of SPSS version 23. Independent variables in this study are intrinsic work values, extrinsic work values, social/altruistic work values, and prestige work values. The dependent variables used in this study are the gender of generation Y and work status of generation Y. Two dependent variables this study used two model of discriminant in testing the research hypothesis. The result of analysis indicates that there are significant differences between generation Y by gender and work status. Generation Y’s work values based on gender and work status have the strongest discriminator variables on extrinsic work values.

Examining the Use of Planned Happenstance With Students of Korean Cultural Backgrounds in the United States

Students of Korean cultural backgrounds seek to enter the U.S. workforce, yet they face various career development challenges. One challenge is building relationships and engaging in career networking, a crucial career development skill. Also, work values are often explored in practice, but little information exists about how work values influence networking behavior for students with Korean cultural background. This study examined the relation of intrinsic and extrinsic work values and career networking and how planned happenstance mediates these concepts. This study found that planned happenstance mediates intrinsic work and networking, but it does not mediate the relation between extrinsic work value and networking. This study suggests that applying planned happenstance theory to students of Korean cultural backgrounds may help students to expand their professional networks. Also, career intervention programs can be developed with planned happenstance theory and based on assessment of work values.

Work values during the transition to adulthood and mid-life satisfaction

This 25-year longitudinal study of a sample of Canadian high school seniors ( N = 373) examined pathways from work values at age 18 to mid-life (age 43) career satisfaction and life satisfaction through several possible mediators: age 25 and 32 work values, months of postsecondary education (PSE) by age 25, and age 43 work rewards. Gender and parents’ PSE were also examined as influences on pathways to mid-life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling found support for one pathway beginning with intrinsic work values in high school (age 18 intrinsic work values→age 25 intrinsic work values→age 32 intrinsic work values→age 43 intrinsic work rewards→age 43 career and life satisfaction). Another pathway began with parents’ PSE (parents’ PSE→participants’ age 25 PSE→age 43 intrinsic work rewards→age 43 career and life satisfaction). Extrinsic work values from age 18 to 32 were not related to age 43 work rewards or career and life satisfaction. These findings indicate that adolescent work values matter for important mid-life outcomes, intrinsic work values are stronger predictors of adaptive outcomes than are extrinsic work values, and PSE plays a vital cross-generational role in shaping mid-life satisfaction.

Youth Unemployment and Career Scarring: Social-Psychological Mediating Effects?

Unemployment has career scarring effects for adults, and sometimes for youth, but previous research has not directly demonstrated how this occurs. This 14-year (1985-99) longitudinal study reveals that cumulative unemployment between age 18 and age 32 has a negative effect on both total income and quality of employment at age 32. This scarring effect is not mediated by parallel changes in self-esteem, perceived control or extrinsic work values. Labour market mechanisms, rather than social psychological processes, are likely responsible for the career scarring effect of youth unemployment.