Transmission of Work Attitudes and Values: Comparisons, Consequences, and Implications

• Author: Gerbert Kraaykamp,Zeynep Cemalcilar,Jale Tosun
• Date: 01 March 2019
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716219831947
• Subject Matter: Introduction

8 ANNALS, AAPSS, 682, March 2019

DOI: 10.1177/0002716219831947

Transmission of

Work Attitudes

and Values:

Comparisons,

Consequences,

and

Implications

By

GERBERT KRAAYKAMP,

ZEYNEP CEMALCILAR,

and

JALE TOSUN

831947ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYTRANSMISSION OF WORK ATTITUDES AND VALUES

research-article2019

Are attitudes toward work and perceptions of the ben-

efits of work transmitted from parents to youth simi-

larly across a variety of cultural contexts? What

determines the centrality of work to one’s life? How are

intrinsic work values (intangible rewards such as auton-

omy, learning opportunities, and self-fulfillment) and

extrinsic work values (such as status, income, and finan-

cial safety) shaped; and how do these work attitudes

have consequences in the political, economic, and well-

being domains? Are the determinants of work values

robust across countries, and do the consequences of

having certain work values differ by country? These

research questions guide this issue of The ANNALS.

This introductory article clarifies key concepts underly-

ing the volume and provides an overview of the data

sources and analytic approaches addressed in the indi-

vidual contributions. Most importantly, we provide a

broad theoretical framework with notions from various

disciplines aimed at giving readers a fuller grasp of the

multifaceted significance of work values.

Keywords: comparative analysis; transmission; work

attitudes and values

Next to the importance that people attach to

their family, work is one of the most val-

ued qualities of life. In European countries,

more than 80 percent of the population indi-

cates that work is of major importance (World

Value Survey wave 6; authors’ calculations

Gerbert Kraaykamp is a professor of empirical sociol-

ogy in the Department of Sociology at Radboud

University, in the Netherlands. His major research

interests include educational inequality, intergenera-

tional transmission, and health inequality. He has pub-

lished widely on these subjects in international scientific

journals.

Zeynep Cemalcılar is an associate professor of social

psychology at Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey. Her

most recent research focuses on youth autonomy and

self-sufficiency, subjective socioeconomic status, brief

social psychological interventions, and technology in

the social life.

Correspondence: g.kraaykamp@ru.nl

TRANSMISSION OF WORK ATTITUDES AND VALUES 9

based on Inglehart etal. 2014). This may not come as a surprise because most

people, after leaving full-time education, face a lengthy period of being active in

paid work, self-employment, or civil service. Daily activities are centered on

work, and work provides financial security; most importantly, though, work

relates to feelings of self-worth and self-identification (Rosso, Dekas, and

Wrzesniewski 2010). Because work is perceived as exceptionally important by

most people, several studies also underscore that qualities of work are strongly

related to feelings of individual well-being and subjective health (Gallie et al.

2016). It is, therefore, often a major life event when people lose their work: the

resulting financial restraints can impair the acquisition of basic necessities and

luxury goods; but most importantly, losing employment can result in a loss of self-

worth.

Building Research Questions

Attitudes toward work are the principles that guide individuals’ vocational aspira-

tions, career choices, and job satisfaction, and they also influence personal well-

being (Kalleberg 1977; Gallie 2007; Gallie, Felstead, and Green 2012). These

attitudes, work beliefs, or work ethic may also have implications for satisfaction

with politico-administrative institutions and political participation (Shore and

Tosun 2019a, 2019b). From an institutional perspective, employees’ attitudes

toward work are important since they likely affect the performance of businesses

and the management of work tasks in modern competitive organizations

(Robertson, Birch, and Cooper 2012). Work attitudes are regarded as even more

important with the emergence of “new” forms of employment, which are charac-

terized by more flexible working arrangements, temporary contracts, and

enhanced responsibility for the employees (Bureau and Corsani 2016). It is

unclear, however, whether working in more insecure labor arrangements

increases or decreases intrinsic or extrinsic work values.

Aside from the effects for the individual, attitudes about working are also

fundamental for general social welfare and the functioning of modern societies.

Max Weber (1905/2013) pointed at the consequences of work ethics grounded in

Protestant faith for economic growth in Western countries, and modernization

theory (Inglehart and Baker 2000) implies that values related to work are

Jale Tosun is professor at the Institute of Political Science at Heidelberg University, Germany.

Her research focuses on comparative public policy, international political economy, and public

administration.

NOTE: This issue benefited from financial support by the project Cultural Pathways to

Economic Self-Sufficiency and Entrepreneurship (CUPESSE; Seventh Framework

Programme; Grant Agreement No. 61325), the Field of Focus 3 “Cultural Dynamics in

Globalised Worlds,” and the Field of Focus 4 “Self-Regulation and Regulation: Individuals and

Organisations” at Heidelberg University. We further acknowledge helpful comments on this

article by Julia Weiss. Dominic Afscharian, Marcel Katzlinger, Lucas Leopold, Julian Rossello,

and Paul Thalmann provided valuable research assistance to the entire volume.