Your values are the “hidden criteria” by which you interpret people’s behaviors as well as the situations around you. Values refer to some desirable way of behavior that drives your judgments, attitudes and actions. It is necessary to know your personal values, because this will allow you to better evaluate the choices you make.
Every person considers certain things particularly important for his life and for this reason seeks them in the environment of his home, his school, his work, in the relationships he enters into with other people, but also in his own self. Therefore, our personal values are everything that we value, value and consider important. They are the rewards we seek through our activities, efforts and in general through our way of life.
Your values, that is, what you consider important and seek with your actions in every phase of your life, may come from:
Your values don’t stand still over time. As you grow and mature, the values you have change and adapt each time to the circumstances of your life. At the same time, the values you have at a certain moment in your life are prioritized based on their importance. This hierarchy takes place depending on the age, experiences and environment in which you live. The truth is that there is no right and wrong hierarchy of your values, as long as you are clear and consistent about what you consider important each time and what you seek to achieve with your attitude and behavior.
One category of values associated with the profession and the world of work are professional values. Essentially, work values are the rewards we seek from our professional activity, as well as the qualities we desire and seek to acquire through it. So in order to identify your work values, you have to ask yourself what you want to gain from your future work.
The formation of professional values is influenced by certain factors, such as family, gender, age, personality, work experience, etc. To begin with, you learn values from your family members, as it is known that values and beliefs are passed down from generation to generation. But as you grow up and form your own distinct personality, you acquire personal experiences and views, which affect your value system. In addition, your gender significantly affects the professional values you acquire. It is generally accepted that men tend to be more interested in financial gain, independence, prestige and the ability to evolve in their work. On the other hand, women tend to be more interested in recognition at work, social acceptance and good relations with colleagues. No doubt, and age seems to determine your work values. As you mature and gain a fuller understanding of the professions and the world of work, your beliefs about the content of different professions, the salary, the studies they need and the requirements of employers change, so your values change accordingly.
In general, work values are of great importance for the professional choices you will make and your future career. It is vital to identify your professional values, that is, to identify what you want your future work to offer you. By clarifying what you want to get from your job, you help yourself to identify the kind of employment you will be looking for.
The next questionnaire will help you determine your professional values.
Questionnaire Of Professional Values
Read the following sentences carefully. Circle the corresponding number, depending on how much each sentence applies to you.
Strongly disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Strongly agree | ||
1 | It is better to have security in a job than opportunities for development. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
2 | I find it hard to stand the idea that others in my future work may evolve faster than me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
3 | I am not much interested in the type of work I will do as in earning a lot of money. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
4 | I want my profession to give me the opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
5 | A very important element in my future work is the opportunity to make friends. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
6 | I would like a profession that guarantees me a stable future. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
7 | I consider it important in a profession to give me the opportunity to develop professionally. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
8 | Success in a job is evaluated by how much money one earns. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
9 | I expect my future job to be exciting and enjoyable. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
10 | I would prefer a profession that would give me the opportunity to work with people rather than objects. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
11 | I consider it more important to have a job that offers me a lot of money. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
12 | Success in the profession is to have appreciation and recognition from others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
13 | Work is nothing but a way to earn a living. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
14 | It is important for me to have a job in the future that gives me the opportunity to develop my potential. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
15 | I do not consider it right to lose my friends in order to develop professionally. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
16 | It is very important to be able to rely on my profession. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
17 | Having recognition in my future job is very important to me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
18 | My profession should give me the opportunity to earn a lot of money. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
19 | I would like a profession in which I can be creative and be able to work with new ideas. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
20 | The greatest satisfaction I can get from my job is to help my colleagues. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
21 | It is important for me to know that my job is permanent. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
22 | I will try to succeed in my job even if it conflicts with other things in my life. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
23 | To be successful in my future job I must earn money. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
24 | It is important for me to have enough freedom in my work and to be able to use all my abilities. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
25 | It is important for me to have a profession in the future where I can work with friendly people and people who suit me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Grading
Write the number you put in a circle for each sentence and then add each column to get the result.
Security Recognition Earnings Self-expression Interpersonal relationships
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25
Total
The higher your score on each professional value, the more importance you attach to that professional value.