Work Values Case Study

1 Chapter One – Introduction
1.1 Research Background
The term “work values” derives from the concept of values. Values are defined as conscious or unconscious desirable to an individual or to a group of people end- states. (Philips, Gully 2014) Work values, in turn, are a particular case of the value concept, which implies the expectations and the desires of a person concerning his or her work situation and work activities. Since work values and attitudes influence the job performance and job satisfaction of the employees, acknowledging and understanding what people seek from work is highly beneficial for both workers and employers.
There is a range of studies done on the subject of values and work values. The work of Dobson et.al (2013) discussed

Huang and Van De Vliert (2003) investigated which characteristics of different nationalities impact relationship between job satisfaction and job characteristics. The results illustrated that the connection between intrinsic characteristics of work and job satisfaction is stronger in richer and developed countries, in more individualistic countries and in countries with smaller power distance. Kaasa (2011) in the work concerning work values in European countries confirmed that extrinsic work values are rated higher in the countries with a low level of socio-economic development, furthermore, it was found that uncertainty avoidance was positively correlated with affective work related values and negatively with self-actualization values. One of the conclusions of the study “Work values in Western and Eastern Europe” concern the fact that job satisfaction is connected to higher GDP per capita, higher well-being and lower working hours. Borgulya and Hahn in their work “Work related values and attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe” suggest that countries from Central and Eastern Europe give preferences to high salaries, job security, pleasant colleagues and interesting job.
In regards to the countries studied in this work, namely Portugal and Russia, the study “Work Values in Portuguese Society and in Europe” takes an in-depth look at the work values in Portugal, discusses the changes throughout three decades as well as compares it with the values in Europe in general. In what concerns Russia, the paper “A cross-cultural investigation of the effect of Capitalism and Communist ideology on work values” investigates the work values of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia, as well as discusses the post-soviet implications on the work related attitudes of