Work Values

   

~ Create the Work You Love ~

 

This page offers tools designed to determine various aspects of alignment in the workplace. 

• First is a personal work values survey used by career counselors to help clients target attributes of a good job fit.
  
• Below that is an inventory of business or workplace values, derived from the book The Vital Corporation.

May these tools assist you in creating both the work and the workplace you love! 

 

Personal Work Values Survey

Below is a list of personal work values arranged in alphabetical order.  Arrange them in order of their importance to YOU as guiding principles in your work life.   After studying the list carefully, place a “1” next to the value most important to you; a “2” next to the second most important, etc.  The value of least importance should be ranked 22. Work slowly and think carefully.  Feel free to change your answers as you do the exercise.  The end result should really reflect your true beliefs.

 

Rank	Value	Description
	Achievement	I value getting a feeling of accomplishment from my work.
	Activity	I value being busy all the time.
	Advancement	I value having opportunities for advancement.
	Autonomy	I value having control over my own work.  I like to set my own schedules, determine my own procedures, or figure things out for myself.
	Creativity	I value being free to do something because I want to do it, like satisfying my own curiosity, or pursuing my own concerns, or acting on my own priorities.
	Flexibility	I value working at the time I find convenient or a time schedule that can be changed easily or without conflict.
	Friendship	I value making friends on the job and working closely with people who enjoy and support one another.
	Influencing	I value persuasion.  I like being in a position to influence others’ ideas, attitudes, or decisions.
	Moral values	I value work that is morally important in some way.  I want to contribute to some endeavor that I really believe matters.
	Personal Growth	I value having work that enhances growth and development, improves the quality of personal life.
	Power	I value control over others’ work. I like having authority.
	Precision Work	I value work that demands careful, accurate attention to exact specification.
	Prestige	I value recognition.  I like a reputation for being impressive, influential, or successful.
	Profit/Gain	I value work in which my efforts will be generously rewarded in some way.
	Security	I value a steady, well-paying, secure job.  I like to feel certain or confident about my future employment.
	Social Service	I value helping people.  I like work that directly and immediately benefits others.
	Stability	I value predictability.  I like having routine and knowing what people will be expecting of me.
	Status	I value the respect of others.  I like it when others are impressed by the kind of work I do, or the kind of responsibilities I have.
	Supervision/ Human Relations	I value having the support of my employer.
	Training	I value the opportunity to be trained well in my field.
	Variety	I value having something different to do each day.
	Working Conditions	I value good working conditions.

 My Top Ten Work Values: 

1.	6.
2.	7.
3.	8.
4.	9.
5.	10.

                                                                                     

 

Business/Organizational Values Inventory 

Physical Values

Accuracy
The precision, exactness, and conforming to fact in details of work.

Cleanliness
–of offices, production and warehouse facilities, equipment, customer service areas, raw material and finished product inventory, closets, bathrooms, and so on

Maximum Utilization of Resources
The desire and ability of the company to improve its performance by full utilization of its current resources (i.e. as time, money, equipment, materials, space, people, etc.).

Orderliness
–in offices, drawers, file cabinets, shelves, paperwork, files, phone numbers, priority of work, daily and weekly planning, etc.

Punctuality and Timeliness
–in arriving on time to work, from breaks, from lunch, to meetings, in replying to letters and phone calls, in paying bills on time, etc. Occurring at the most suitable or opportune time.

Quality of Products and Services
–in terms of presentation, functionality, choice, value, speed, timeliness, suitability, repeatability, reliability, life span, repeatability, courtesy, friendliness, etc.

Regularity
–of meetings, reports, sales calls, performance reviews, and so forth

Reliability
The way system or persons consistently produce the same results, preferably meeting or exceeding its specifications. Dependability.

Responsiveness
The way people, the organization, systems, etc. react to a need coming from within or without.

Safety
–in offices, warehouses, production and research facilities, vehicles, for employees, vendors, customers. etc.

Speed of Operations
The measurement of whether actions occur in the fastest time.
 

 

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Organizational Values

Accountability
–of individuals, departments and divisions for performance, results, problems, and so on

Communications
–up, down, and sideways within the company, with customers and vendors, in terms of openness, frankness, clarity, frequency, accuracy, timeliness, and brevity

Cooperation (Teamwork)
–among individuals, departments, divisions, branches, and so on

Coordination
–horizontally between departments in terms of plans, activities, and systems

Discipline
–in adherence to company policy, rules, systems, procedures, schedules, standards, ethics, and so on

Freedom for Initiative of Employees
–to make suggestions, develop plans, make decisions, carry out or modify actions, and so on

Integration
–for smooth operation vertically between different levels of the organization in terms of plans, decisions, and priorities

Standardization
–in terms of forms, files, procedures, reports, performance evaluations, equipment, training, recruitment, orientations, communications, and so on

Systemization
–in sales, marketing, customer service, accounting, research, production, engineering, estimating, recruitment, training, promotions, communications, coordination, reporting, and so on

 

 

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Psychological Values

Continuous Improvement
The desire and ability of the company to develop and incorporate ways to improve itself.

Creativity
–in terms of new products, new ideas, new systems, new production methods, new applications of technology, new methods of financing, new marketing strategies

Customer Delight
The positive emotional response and joy that the customer feels from interaction with our people and our products and services.

Decisiveness
–in solving problems, planning, executing plans, in terms of speed and commitment to decisions once made

Develop People
The desire and ability of the company to improve the lot of its employees, including, ultimately, their personal growth. (Click here to go to an article on perhaps the highest business value, Commitment to People.)

Harmony
The overall atmosphere and interaction between people, departments, divisions, systems, activities, rules, and policies within the company and between these elements and the external environment, customers, vendors, community laws, and so on.

Innovation
The desire and ability of the company to venture into new, breakthrough areas of opportunity. (e.g. in the industry, in emerging trends in society, etc.)

Integrity
Keeping to one’s word, promises, agreements, being truthful, non-deceitful etc. with employees, customers, vendors, government, etc.

Loyalty
–to and from suppliers, customers, and employees

Resourcefulness
The ability to deal resourcefully, i.e. creatively, imaginatively, self-reliably with unusual problems, difficult situations, or unanticipated opportunities.

Respect for the Individual
–in establishing rules and policies, design of systems, making decisions, executing instructions, and so on in terms of people’s health, safety, self-esteem, feelings, and opinions

Service to Society
Community welfare, environmental protection, development of products and services that meet real physical, social, or psychological needs.

(A Will to ) Succeed
–in any aspect of work