Work value change in South Africa : its nature, direction and distribution between 1990 and 2001

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Recent literature on values suggests that advanced, industrial societies are displaying a markedshift away from traditional values that stress material prosperity, physical and economic securitytowards values that are more expressive of individual freedom, autonomy and growth.According to Inglehart, forces of modernisation and globalisation have initiated a number ofsystemic level changes, that have ushered in processes of objective and subjectiveindividualisation, dramatically altering the nature and structure of human value orientations andsocietal norms.Work values, as expressions of general life values in the work context, are no exception to thisprocess. In the new world of work, intrinsic work values that stress personal growth,development and self-determination should gradually replace extrinsic work values such as goodpay, job security and status. An understanding of the nature, direction and distribution of suchvalue change could prove invaluable to the organizational practitioner and policy maker, sincework values playa pivotal role in shaping organisational structure, process and policy.According to Inglehart, a number of developing countries are displaying similar shifts towardsindividualised values. Although classified as a middle-income, developing economy, SouthAfrica has undergone a number of prolific economic, political and cultural changes over the lastdecade that would undoubtedly have altered the nature, direction and distribution of work valuesin the country.It is in the light of these political, economic and cultural developments that the current studyembarked on an analysis of the nature, direction and distribution of work value change in SouthAfrica between 1990 and 2001. The analysis was informed by the proposition that the workvalues of South Africans citizens should reflect a shift in the direction of individualised workvalues between 1990 and 2001. South Africans have, however, been exposed to and socializedwithin vastly different social, economic and political environments. The study has thereforetaken cognisance of the fact that work value change in South Africa should reflect the starkcleavages and differences that exist within the population, and attempted to plot the differencesin the nature and direction of work values between the various social categories defined by race,gender, educational and occupational level.The secondary analysis of survey data from the South African components of the 1990, 1995 and2001 World Values Survey was performed in order to fulfil the objectives of the study. Workvalues of South African citizens were measured in terms of four dimensions, namely workcentrality; work values relating to the distribution of power in the organization; work valuesrelating to work preferences; and work values relating to authority systems in the workplace.Use was made of simple uni-variate and bi-variate analysis, as well as the comparison of meanswhere appropriate.The results of the analysis suggest that work values relating to work centrality and thedistribution of power in the organisation have become increasingly individualised. Work valuesrelating to work preferences and authority have, however, displayed a trend in opposition toindividualisation. Comparisons of work value change across the various sub-groups of thepopulation reflect the changing economic, social and political landscape of South Africa. Thedata suggests that as various sub-groups of the population are exposed to the systemic levelchanges characteristic of the new South Africa, traditional value differences informed by race,gender, educational and occupational level will be gradually transformed and replaced by newvalue patterns untainted by the inequalities of the apartheid era.The analysis concludes by examining a number of explanations for the value changes described,and attempts to infer implications for the formulation and implementation of workplace policyand practice in South Africa. The high and increasing levels of unemployment and theincreasing participation of women and previously excluded racial groupings into the SouthAfrican labour market have increased perceptions of job insecurity in South Africa and haveresulted in an expanding number of South Africans placing increased emphasis on traditionalwork preferences and systems of authority. Should this trend persist, the development ofindividualised work values will continue to be hindered, rendering the South African businessenvironment less competitive and increasingly fraught with high levels of distrust anduncertainty. We suggest, therefore, that human resource practitioners and policy makers embarkon the challenging task of reframing individual perceptions surrounding the meaning of work inSouth Africa, so as to better prepare South Africans for the challenges brought about by the newworld of work

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University