The roles of experience and gender in shaping work values

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine work values among job seekers and how these values differ across experience and gender.Design/methodology/approachThis study asked participants to rate the importance of various intrinsic and extrinsic work values on a five-point Likert scale. Responses were compared for 865 participants.FindingsThis study found that individuals differed in their ratings of work values based on experience. Individuals with more experience assigned greater importance to intrinsic job characteristics, while those with less experience assigned greater importance to extrinsic job characteristics. Findings further reveal differences in gender ratings of work values, with females assigning greater importance ratings to both intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics as compared to males.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this study include that it drew its data exclusively from a sample of US respondents. Research investigating populations from other geographic regions within the same study may uncover important cross-national similarities/differences. Moreover, although this study examined experience and gender, it excluded other potentially important factors such as ethnicity. Future research should explore international samples and broaden its focus to include additional factors.Practical implicationsOrganizations should be aware of how experience and gender shape work values to impact job choice and retention. They may wish to target their recruitment efforts toward certain groups to ensure alignment between candidates' work values and those of available positions.Originality/valueThis study improves on prior research by examining the dual impact of experience and gender in shaping work values.