Diversity in Career Systems: The Role of Employee Work Values

Abstract

Different career systems foster dis-similar end states and opportunities.Since, work values are the standards by which employees discern the importance or establish preferences with regard to workplace out-comes it is proposed that employee work values could be a useful frame to understand the variations in the adoption of career system practices across organizations. Although the effects of work values on vocational choice making have been studied before, employee work values have not been linked to the career management systems in organizations.Two sets of higher order constructs of work values, viz. openness to change and self-transcendence are proposed to relate to internal career management systems whereas two others viz. conservatism and self-enhancement are pro-posed to relate to external career management systems.