Expanding Links Between Work Values and Occupations: Development of the Occupational Values Inventory (OVI)

Abstract

This research developed the Occupational Values Inventory (OVI), a 30-item measure that expands the content coverage of work values by linking into a broad range of O*NET occupational descriptors, including Work Activities and Work Contexts, along with salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OVI assesses 11 work values—Interpersonal, Outdoor, Physical, Leadership, Salary, Prestige, Variety, Interest, Work Hours, Knowledge Utilization, and Autonomy—providing an updated and refined coverage of work values relevant to people and occupations in the modern labor market. Study 1 (N = 768) developed and refined the OVI’s scales using conceptual and psychometric criteria, also reporting initial evidence in support of reliability and validity. Studies 2 and 3 further evaluated the reliability and criterion-related validity of the OVI based on longitudinal samples of recent graduates from universities (N = 816) and community colleges (N = 560). OVI scales and profiles were correlated with occupational aspirations and choice; work value fit with O*NET occupations correlated with subjective career outcomes including career choice satisfaction. The OVI can provide objective assessment of work values fit between people and a wide range of occupations, and may be used in a range of vocational research and applied settings.

Keywords

work values occupations careers person-environment fit measure development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abessolo

Hirschi

Rossier

(2021). Development and validation of a multidimensional career values questionnaire: A measure integrating work values, career orientations, and career anchors. Journal of Career Development, 48(3), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319846567

Al-Qallawi

(2022). Is it undervalued? A qualitative and quantitative review of the work values-job performance relationship. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Florida Institute of Technology].

Brayfield

A. H.

Rothe

H. F.

(1951). An index of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 35(5), 307–311. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0055617

Cable

D. M.

Derue

D. S.

(2002). The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(5), 875–884. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.87.5.875

Consiglio

Cenciotti

Borgogni

Alessandri

Schwartz

S. H.

(2017). The WVal: A new measure of work values. Journal of Career Assessment, 25(3), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716639691

Credé

Harms

Niehorster

Gaye-Valentine

(2012). An evaluation of the consequences of using short measures of the Big Five personality traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(4), 874–888. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027403

Dawis

R. V.

Lofquist

L. H.

(1984). A psychological theory of work adjustment: An individual differences model and its applications. University of Minnesota Press. https://vpr.psych.umn.edu/sites/vpr.umn.edu/files/2022-05/Dawis_Lofquist_1984_A_Psychological_TWA.pdf

Donnellan

M. B.

Oswald

F. L.

Baird

B. M.

Lucas

R. E.

(2006). The mini-IPIP scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the big five factors of personality. Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 192–203. https://psycnet-apa-org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/doi/10.1037/1040-3590.18.2.192

Funder

D. C.

Ozer

D. J.

(2019). Evaluating effect size in psychological research: Sense and nonsense. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 2(2), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919847202

10.

Gay

E. G.

Weiss

D. J.

Hendel

D. D.

Dawis

R. V.

Lofquist

L. H.

(1971). Manual for the Minnesota importance Questionnaire. University of Minnesota Press.

11.

Gignac

G. E.

Szodorai

E. T.

(2016). Effect size guidelines for individual differences researchers. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, 74–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.069

12.

Hanna

Briley

Einarsdottir

Hoff

Rounds

(2021). Fit gets better: A longitudinal study of changes in interest fit in educational and work environments. European Journal of Personality, 35(4), 557–580. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070211014022

13.

Hirschi

(2008). Personality complexes in adolescence: Traits, interests, work values, and self-evaluations. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(8), 716–721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.07.018

14.

L. T.

Bentler

P. M.

(1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

15.

Jansen

K. J.

Kristof-Brown

(2006). Toward a multidimensional theory of person-environment fit. Journal of Managerial Issues, 18(2), 193–212. https://www-jstor-org-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/stable/40604534

16.

Judge

T. A.

Bretz

R. D.

(1992). Effects of work values on job choice decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(3), 261–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.77.3.261

17.

Kim

S. R.

Lee

S. M.

(2018). Resilient college students in school-to-work transition. International Journal of Stress Management, 25(2), 195–207. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000060

18.

Kristof

A. L.

(1996). Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Personnel Psychology, 49(1), 1–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01790.x

19.

Kristof-Brown

A. L.

Zimmerman

R. D.

Johnson

E. C.

(2005). Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00672.x

20.

Krumm

Grube

Hertel

(2013). No time for compromises: Age as a moderator of the relation between needs-supply fit and job satisfaction. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology, 22(5), 547–562. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2012.676248

21.

Liu

Hoff

K. A.

Chu

Oswald

F. L.

Rounds

(2024). Toward whole-person fit assessment: Integrating interests, values, skills, knowledge, and personality using the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001232

22.

Lyons

S. T.

Higgins

C. A.

Duxbury

(2010). Work values: Development of a new three-dimensional structure based on confirmatory smallest space analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(7), 969–1002. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.658

23.

Matthews

R. A.

Pineault

Hong

Y. H.

(2022). Normalizing the use of single-item measures: Validation of the single-item compendium for organizational psychology. Journal of Business and Psychology, 37(4), 639–673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09813-3

24.

McCloy

R. A.

Waugh

G. W.

Medsker

G. J.

(2001). O*NET computerized work importance profiler: Reliability, validity, and comparability. National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/dl_files/CIP_RVC.pdf

25.

McCloy

R. A.

Waugh

G. W.

Medsker

G. J.

Sager

C. E.

Ravlin

E. C.

(1999). Development of the O*NET work importance locator. National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/dl_files/Locator.pdf

26.

Meglino

B. M.

Ravlin

E. C.

Adkins

C. L.

(1989). A work values approach to corporate culture: A field test of the value congruence process and its relationship to individual outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(3), 424–467. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.74.3.424

27.

Mulfinger

Alexander

III Wu

Oswald

F. L.

(2021). O*NET download tool . https://orgtools.shinyapps.io/ONETDownloadTool/

28.

Nauta

M. M.

(2007). Assessing college students’ satisfaction with their academic majors. Journal of Career Assessment, 15(4), 446–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707305762

29.

Nevill

Super

D. E.

(1989). The value scale: Theory, application, and research. Consulting Psychologists Press.

30.

Occupational Information Network . (2022). O*NET OnLine. https://www.onetonline.org/

31.

Peterson

N. G.

Mumford

M. D.

Borman

W. C.

Jeanneret

P. R.

Fleishman

E. A.

Levin

K. Y.

Campion

M. A.

Mayfield

Morgeson

F. P.

Pearlman

Gowing

M. K.

Lancaster

A. R.

Silver

M. B.

Dye

D. M.

(2001). Understanding work using the occupational information network (O*NET): Implications for practice and research. Personnel Psychology, 54(2), 451–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2001.tb00100.x

32.

Pew Research Center . (2013). On pay gap, millennial women near parity - for now. Pew Research Center.

33.

Pinquart

Juang

L. P.

Silbereisen

R. K.

(2003). Self-efficacy and successful school-to-work transition: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(3), 329–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00031-3

34.

Rounds

(1990). The comparative and combined utility of work values and interest data in career counseling with adults. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37(1), 32–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(90)90005-M

35.

Rounds

Armstrong

P. I.

Liao

H.-Y.

Rivkin

Lewis

(2008). Second generation occupational value profiles for the O*NET system: Summary. The National Center for O*NET Development.

36.

Rounds

Leuty

M. E.

(2020). Nature, importance, and assessment of needs and values. In Brown

S. D.

Lent

R. W.

(Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (3rd ed., pp. 509–543). John Wiley & Sons.

37.

Schwartz

S. H.

(1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6

38.

Super

D. E.

(1992). Toward a comprehensive theory of career development. In Motross

D. H.

Shinkman

C. J.

(Eds.), Career development: Theory and practice. Charles C Thomas.

39.

Super

D. E.

Sverko

(Eds.), (1995). Life roles, values, and careers: International findings of the work importance study. Jossey-Bass.

40.

Tinsley

H. E. A.

(2000). The congruence myth: An analysis of the efficacy of the person-environment fit model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), 147–179. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1999.1727

41.

Tsacoumis

Van Iddekinge

C. H.

(2006). A comparison of incumbent and analyst ratings of O* NET skills. National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/dl_files/SkillsComp.pdf

42.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2021). https://www.bls.gov/

43.

U.S. Department of Labor . (2021). Supporting statement for O*NET data collection program. Raleigh, North Carolina: U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.onetcenter.org/dl_files/omb2024/Supporting_StatementB.pdf.