Core Professional Values in Contemporary Workplaces: A Qualitative Analysis of Employee Perceptions

Global changes have influenced contemporary workplaces, and the importance of meaning, ethics, and well-being at work is more relevant than ever. Professional values play a crucial role in employee’s attitudes, behavior, and performance. The research has focused on the importance of organizational culture, value congruence, and their link to performance; however, less is known about the perception of employees and their priorities and opinions regarding core professional values in the everyday work context.

Through qualitative and exploratory research, this study examines a health sector employee’s perception of workplace values and their influence on professional experiences. Data were collected from a team of middle-management health professionals using an open-ended questionnaire. Our focus was on identifying the core professional values associated with performance and the perception of the values perceived as violated in everyday workplace situations. The research method consisted of an inductive, three-stage coding procedure.

The study revealed. value categories as relational, ethical, performance, leadership, development, and work-life that are interrelated. The foundation of the contemporary workplace is represented by ethical and relational values that enhance performance in the context of congruence between individual and organizational values. Leadership values were the key mediator, while work-life values represented the sustaining value for engagement and prevented burnout. Violations of core values such as respect, fairness, and communication were perceived as disturbing and generated disengagement and frustration.

The qualitative data generated insightful results that suggest that, especially in healthcare, organizations should prioritize alignment in management practices and focus on core values. The limitation of this research is represented by the limited number of respondents from a single type of organization.

The study contributes to the general research spectrum by highlighting that value alignment is a central mechanism that shapes professional experience in our contemporary workplaces and by showing though an employee centered framework the importance of understanding performance and organizational culture.