Value Preferences and Frustration in the Workplace

Martina Glaserová

doi:10.18267/j.aop.626

Abstract

A long-term personnel crisis, especially among nursing staff, has been tormenting the Czech healthcare sector despite the fact that average salaries are continuously increasing. Therefore, the financial remuneration factor is not decisive for employee retention. There are a number of other factors influencing the turnover rate, such as job satisfaction and the role of clarity although this paper deals with the influence of value preferences. The aim of the study was to map the value preferences of employees in two departments of a selected healthcare facility. Technical staff members work for the first department while the other department involved medical staff. The comparison also focused on the values that were attributed by the employees to the organisation. Furthermore, the extent of the value setting by managers reflected in their management style and how it affects the frustration of their subordinates was investigated. The data needed to evaluate the above-mentioned objectives was obtained through a questionnaire based on The Portrait Value Questionnaire. The data obtained was converted into comparable values and further evaluated through the calculation of mean values and correlation analysis. It was found in selected workplaces of the given organisation that the individual value settings of employees and their perception of organisational values do not match. Furthermore, the frustration experienced by staff in a given workplace is related to the management style of their superiors, which is affected by their value preferences. By identifying the value setting of employees and its alignment with the organisation, it is possible to better understand the internal environment of the organisation in connection with the effort to retain employees and with regard to their further motivation and achieving alignment with the values of the organisation.

Highlights

A long-term personnel crisis, especially among nursing staff, has been tormenting the Czech healthcare sector despite the fact that average salaries are continuously increasing
Values influence the way individuals perceive themselves and their organisation, a process closely related to unique personal experience (Harquail and King, 2010), and achieved through preferences determined by individual value settings
The compatibility of the individual and the organisational values predetermines the commitment of employees, and it is the degree of commitment that is a key factor affecting future staff turnover (Amos and Weathington, 2008)

Summary

Introduction

A long-term personnel crisis, especially among nursing staff, has been tormenting the Czech healthcare sector despite the fact that average salaries are continuously increasing. As to the theory of organisational identity, there is a process of becoming identified with the organisation and its value system both from the top down – in terms of how an individual is influenced by the organisation through managers – and from the bottom up where an individual negotiates setting the limits between that individual and the organisation by means of the individuals mindset, experiencing and actions (Ashforth et al, 2008). If this delimitation is painful and mutually unacceptable, there will be an impasse where one, the other, or both sides conclude that a prolonged struggle is not for the benefit of either

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