Work Values Inventory

Abstract

The Work Values Inventory (WVI), originally developed by Manhardt (1972), is a psychological measure designed to assess the relative importance individuals place on 25 distinct job characteristics. Manhardt’s initial analysis identified that 21 of these characteristics clustered into three primary dimensions: Comfort and Security, Competence and Growth, and Status and Independence. Subsequent research, such as that by Meyer, Irving, and Allen (1998), adapted the measure to also evaluate the extent to which these characteristics are present within an employee’s current work environment, thereby linking work values to outcomes like organizational commitment.

The three dimensions capture different facets of motivation. The Comfort and Security dimension emphasizes stable work conditions, routine, and safety. Competence and Growth focuses on intrinsic rewards, such as intellectual stimulation, skill development, and a feeling of accomplishment. Finally, Status and Independence relates to extrinsic and power-related rewards, including high income potential, supervisory responsibilities, and organizational influence.

Keywords

Work values, job characteristics, organizational behavior, organizational commitment, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, competence, job satisfaction, organizational psychology.

Authors

Manhardt (1972), Meyer, Irving, & Allen (1998).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Work Values Inventory is to quantify the relative importance an individual assigns to various attributes of a job. By assessing these priorities, the scale helps researchers and practitioners understand an employee’s value system regarding work, which is crucial for predicting job choice, satisfaction, and commitment.

While originally focused on the importance of characteristics, later adaptations also allowed for the assessment of the actual presence of these characteristics in a current job, enabling the study of person-job fit and its impact on employee outcomes.

Construct

The Work Values Inventory measures the construct of Work Values, which are enduring beliefs about the desired outcomes and attributes of employment. These values serve as standards that guide job-related attitudes and behaviors.

The core construct is operationalized through three distinct, yet related, sub-dimensions:

• Comfort and Security: Reflects the desire for stability, predictability, and physical ease in the work environment (e.g., job security, comfortable conditions).
• Competence and Growth: Reflects the desire for mastery, learning, and self-actualization through work (e.g., intellectual stimulation, skill development).
• Status and Independence: Reflects the desire for influence, prestige, and autonomy (e.g., high income, supervisory role, working independently).

Validity

Research conducted by Meyer et al. (1998) established relationships between the WVI dimensions and established measures of organizational commitment, providing evidence of criterion-related validity.

Specifically, the value placed on Comfort and Security demonstrated positive correlations with the value placed on Status and Independence. Furthermore, Comfort and Security positively correlated with continuance commitment after both six and twelve months of employment.

The value placed on Competence and Growth also correlated positively with the value placed on Status and Independence. Crucially, Competence and Growth exhibited a positive relationship with normative commitment after six months on the job, and with affective commitment after twelve months, suggesting that valuing intrinsic growth contributes to emotional attachment and perceived obligation to the organization over time.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Coefficient alpha in the study by Meyer et al. (1998). The resulting alpha values indicated acceptable to good reliability across the three dimensions:

• For the Comfort and Security dimension, Coefficient alpha values ranged from .63 to .72.
• For the Competence and Growth dimension, Coefficient alpha values ranged from .65 to .80.
• For the Status and Independence dimension, Coefficient alpha values ranged from .62 to .68.

Factor Analysis

The original development by Manhardt (1972) involved an implicit factor structure based on the assessment of 25 job characteristics. Factor analysis revealed that 21 of these characteristics loaded onto three distinct, underlying factors or dimensions. These factors—Comfort and Security, Competence and Growth, and Status and Independence—form the established dimensional structure of the scale used in subsequent organizational research.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychometric Scale

Format: Responses are obtained using a 5-point Likert-type scale, typically ranging from 1 = unimportant to 5 = very important. The measure can also be adapted to assess the perceived presence of characteristics (Meyer et al., 1998).

Language Available: English (as presented in the source literature).

Population Group: Employees and working adults.

Age Group: Adult population.

Population Details: Used primarily in organizational behavior research involving employees across various industries.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the importance of 25 specific job attributes based on their personal values.

Keywords

Work values inventory, Manhardt, organizational commitment, competence and growth, status and independence, comfort and security, psychometrics, job characteristics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original conceptualization and development of the Work Values Inventory were conducted by Manhardt in 1972. The specific items and validation data cited in the source content come from the 1998 study by Meyer, Irving, & Allen, published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

The items reproduced in the 1998 article were taken from Table 1, p. 36. Copyright for the 1998 article is held by John Wiley & Sons Limited, and reproduction requires their permission.

Reference’s

Manhardt, P. J. (1972). Job orientation of male and female college graduates in business. Personnel Psychology, 25, 361-368.

Meyer, J. P., Irving, P. G., & Allen, N. J. (1998). Examination of the combined effects of work values and early work experiences on organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 29-52. Items were taken from Table 1, p. 36. Copyright© 1998. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley & Sons Limited.

Items of the Work Values Inventory

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Responses are obtained using a 5-point Likert-type scale where 1 = unimportant and 5 = very important.

Comfort and security items:

1. Permits a regular routine in time and place of work
2. Provides job security
3. Has clear-cut rules and procedures to follow
4. Provides ample leisure time off the job
5. Provides comfortable working conditions

Competence and growth items:

1. Requires meeting and speaking with many other people
2. Is intellectually stimulating
3. Requires originality and creativity
4. Make a social contribution by the work you do
5. Satisfies your cultural and aesthetic interests
6. Encourages continued development of knowledge and skills
7. Permits you to develop your own methods of doing the work
8. Provides a feeling of accomplishment
9. Provides change and variety in duties and activities

Status and independence items:

1. Permits advancement to high administrative responsibility
2. Provides the opportunity to earn a high income
3. Requires supervising others
4. Is respected by other people
5. Requires working on problems of central importance to the organization
6. Permits working independently
7. Gives you the responsibility for taking risks