Introduction
During your working life it's very easy to get so immersed in the day-to-day routine that you forget to think about the bigger picture of your life as a whole. You might be very excited to have been offered a job; you might simply feel grateful that you have a job; you might be relieved to be one of the survivors of the recent round of redundancies. Any of these situations can take your eye off the really important question: are you in the right job for you?
Often this question can be answered simply by whether you feel happy and comfortable at work. Other times it can be more difficult. You may feel vaguely dissatisfied and restless.
These scenarios can be the result of a mismatch between your values and your circumstances. It makes sense to take an analytical look at what your values are and how you can apply them practically to your working life.
What are Values?
Values are about worth. They are the principles, standards and beliefs you are committed to and live your life by. You feel unhappy and dissatisfied when your values are compromised.
Some of your values may remain the same throughout your life. Other values may change through maturity, particular experiences, or as a result of circumstances.
Understanding your values
In terms of your job it’s essential to understand your values. It's your values that motivate you to work.
If you think of your career as a journey, there are three vital elements involved in that journey – interests, abilities and values. Your interests tell you what direction to take, your abilities indicate how long it will take you to reach your goal, and your values dictate whether or not the journey is worth taking in the first place.
If consciously or unconsciously your values are telling you that a particular direction is not the right one, you’re very unlikely to make a success of that journey.
Values versus ethics
Values differ from ethics in that there is not necessarily a moral dimension to values. Values, unlike ethics, do not have to be seen by society as “right” or “just” or “responsible”, and so on. Values are simply what is right for you.
For instance, one of your important values might be “a short journey to work.” This has no moral implications.
Values Scorecard
The easiest way to asses what is important to you is to adopt a structured approach. A good method is to create a “values scorecard” to help you identify and prioritise what’s important to you.
Think carefully about what each of the words or terms below means to you. Then assess how they relate to what you want from work. Once you have pondered on the meaning of each, mark them off on the scorecard in terms of wants and don’t wants.
| Value | Must haves | High wants | Wants | Don't minds | Don't want |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement (accomplishing important things | |||||
| Aesthetics (attractive workplace) | |||||
| Affiliation (membership or organisation as a source of pride) | |||||
| Alignment with boss | |||||
| Artistic creativity | |||||
| Autonomy and independence (most work self-determined and limited direction by others | |||||
| Change and variety | |||||
| Chaos (loosely defined environment; goals and priorities unclear | |||||
| Community activity | |||||
| Commuting to work | |||||
| Competition | |||||
| Creativity | |||||
| Employee benefits | |||||
| Excitement | |||||
| Fast pace | |||||
| Friendships | |||||
| Global focus (opportunity to work/visit in other countries) | |||||
| Help others | |||||
| Impact on society | |||||
| Influence on people | |||||
| Intellectual status | |||||
| Knowledge | |||||
| Legacy (be remembered for a specific achievement) | |||||
| Good work life – home life balance | |||||
| Location | |||||
| Loyalty (high level of reciprocal loyalty with organisation) | |||||
| Make decisions | |||||
| Minimise stress | |||||
| Mobility (opportunity to relocate when appropriate) | |||||
| Moral affiliation (work with people of similar morals, values and ethics) | |||||
| Moral fulfilment (environment that reflects your own moral standards) | |||||
| Multicultural affiliation (environment with people from broad range of ages, gender, cultures, race, etc.) | |||||
| Physical challenge | |||||
| Power and authority | |||||
| Precision work | |||||
| Prestige | |||||
| Profit and gain | |||||
| Pure challenge (work to overcome impossible obstacles, difficult problems, etc.) | |||||
| Recognition | |||||
| Risk | |||||
| Security | |||||
| Self-realisation (potential to realise your best efforts) | |||||
| Stability | |||||
| Supervision (responsible for planning and managing work of others) | |||||
| Time freedom | |||||
| Travel (a job that requires regular travel each day/week/month) | |||||
| Work alone | |||||
| Work under pressure | |||||
| Work with others |
Compare your values against your job
Now think about your list of wants and don’t wants against your present job. Are your most important requirements being met? If not, is there anything you can do to change the situation? Who might be able to help you? Your boss, section head, mentor, human resources manager?
- Perhaps you could apply for a different role in the organisation to gain more prestige?
- Perhaps you could work flexi-time to make it easier to fulfil family commitments?
- Perhaps you could move nearer to work to cut down on travel time?
- Perhaps you could spend more time socialising to build up friendships?
- Perhaps a training course would give you more knowledge of give you more intellectual challenge?
All of these are just some of the options for you, depending on your values. Many of these values are fairly practical, and even relatively small adjustments in your working conditions could make the difference between them being met or not, with consequent implications for your happiness in your job.
See also…
Activing listening: A good active listener will broaden his or her knowledge through relating to others, build motivated and responsible teams, and create an environment where new ideas can flourish and take flight.
Effective writing: Effective writing transmits a clear, concise message that is easily understood, well organised and to the point.
Image management: Managing your personal image can increase the confidence people place in you and the career opportunities that come to you.
Managing perceptions: In senior management roles it becomes increasingly important to be able to understand and manage the perception others have of us.
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Based on an article in Business - the ultimate resource
