The effect of social and economic transitions on the meaning of work. A cross-sectional study among Israeli employees
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2018-0111 |
| Pages | 724-739 |
| Date | 03 June 2019 |
| Published date | 03 June 2019 |
| Author | Moshe Sharabi,Brian Polin,Galit Yanay-Ventura |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
The effect of social and
economic transitions on the
meaning of work
A cross-sectional study among Israeli employees
Moshe Sharabi
Yezreel Valley Academic College, Emek Yezreel, Israel and
The Center for the Study of Organizations and Human Resources,
University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Brian Polin
Jerusalem College of Technology, Jerusalem, Israel, and
Galit Yanay-Ventura
Yezreel Valley Academic College, Emek Yezreel, Israel
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of social and economic changes, particularly
the transition from a collectivistic to an individualistic society, on the meaning of work (MOW) in Israel.
Design/methodology/approach –A questionnaire probing the MOW domains (economic orientation,
intrinsic orientation, interpersonal relations, entitlement and obligation norms and job satisfaction) was
conducted on a representative sample of the Israeli labor force in 1981 (n¼973) and 2006 (n¼898).
Findings –A comparison between the results of the 1981 and 2006 surveys shows a significant increase in
economic and intrinsic orientation, and a significant decrease in interpersonal relations orientation, job
satisfaction and obligation and entitlement norms. Work centrality remained stable. The demographic
factors, especially education, have some impact on the MOW domains.
Practical implications –The transformation of work values reflects the changes in employees’
expectations and needs. Therefore, organizations are compelled to find new material and non-material reward
systems and methods to maintain employee commitment, motivation and satisfaction. Various implications
for organizations and management are discussed.
Originality/value –This cross-sectional study explores how the combination of economic and social
changes is reflected in employees’job satisfaction and other work values. Furthermore, the study examines
the impact of the main demographic factors on the MOW and offers suggestions to gain employees loyalty
and commitment based on all the findings.
Keywords Israel, Social change, Meaning of work, Cross-sectional research, Economic transitions
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In the industrialized and post-industrialized world, work occupies a central role in the lives
of individuals and society in general. According to the European Values Survey, less than 20
percent of the respondents in almost all European countries indicated that work is not very
important, or not important at all in their lives (Davoine and Méda, 2010). Furthermore, three
international surveys indicate that in central and Eastern European countries, as well as
southern Europe, the majority of the population does not wish to reduce the importance of
work in life (see Davoine and Méda, 2009). Most people consider working and its outcomes a
central aspect of their lives, as well as an important source for fulfilling several important
needs. The most prominent one is economic or instrumental, asserting that people work in
order to secure their basic sustenance and satisfy their material needs. The second view of
the importance of work is that commitment to work is part of human nature and human
needs. The third perspective is socio-psychological or intrinsic work contributes to one’s
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 41 No. 4, 2019
pp. 724-739
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-04-2018-0111
Received 19 April 2018
Revised 30 October 2018
Accepted 30 October 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
724
ER
41,4
sense of personal identity, social relationships, self-esteem, status, sense of accomplishment,
etc. (MOW –International Research Team, 1987; Neff, 2017).
The fact that work is a central part of most adults’lives has drawn attention to the
relationship between individuals and their work. This relationship has been widely
researched with regard to the attitudes, perceptions and assumptions that people have
about their work, or more generally, with regard to the meaning that work has for the
individual (MOW –International Research Team, 1987; Sharabi and Harpaz, 2010;
Neff, 2017). Other related aspects of work that have been investigated include work
centrality, entitlement norms, obligation norms, economic orientation, intrinsic orientation,
interpersonal relations and job satisfaction (Cennamo and Gardner, 2008; Harpaz and
Fu, 1997; Smola and Sutton, 2002; Twenge et al., 2010). The present study provides a new
dimension in the perception of the changes in meaning of work (MOW) and its
sub-variables, in light of economic and social changes, especially the transition from
collectivism to individualism.
Israeli society has changed over the last30 years, and has become moreindividualisticand
materialistic. In parallel, the economy has shifted from a centralized socialistic one to a
capitalist market one (Harpaz, 2008; Sharabi and Harpaz, 2011). Rapid economic growth, a high
degree of social mobility, strong development of the middle class, support for private
enterprise, less traditional methodsof agriculture,modern industryand spreadingurbanization
(Anderson et al., 2017; Avnimelech and Teubal, 2006, 2004; Wonglimpiyarat, 2016) have all
caused changes in values. This is especially true for young people, as their individualistic
values are being reinforced, while their collectivistic values decline (Sharabi, 2015; Sharabi and
Harpaz, 2016). Therefore, Israeli society is well suited to serve as a case study based on its
ability to provide a reliable model for the effects of collectivism and individualism.
Although the transition from “old world”to “new world”has had a major impact on
individuals’values, there have been few systematic attempts to substantiate this. Moreover,
in the absence of empirical comparative data, the notion of a transition from “old”to “new”
types of work values remains based on unsubstantiated assumptions. In light of this gap,
the objectives of this study are to examine the changes in the MOW dimensions
over the course of time and to determine the variables that affect these dimensions.
The cross-sectional data representing the Israeli Jewish labor force were collected in two
separate periods, in 1981 and in 2006.
Stability and change in work values
Studies between the 1960s and the 1980s support the view that human values are a system
of deeply held collective beliefs, which do not tend to change easily. Longitudinal studies on
the rank order of values in the USA, from 1968 to 1971 and from 1968 to 1981 (Rokeach and
Ball-Rokeach, 1989), demonstrated great similarity in the rank order over these periods. In
another longitudinal exploratory analysis of change and stability of values conducted from
1974 to 1981 in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands, Inglehart (1990) found “remarkable”
stability of these values.
The latest studies have found significant changes in work values resulting from
generational differences. This approach to change is based on the socialization hypothesis,
which explains the development of cultural and normative differences between generations
as stemming from the fact that each generation grows up in a changing social, economic and
technological environment, and therefore experiences different socialization processes
(Abramson and Inglehart, 1995; Sharabi and Harpaz, 2007; Smola and Sutton, 2002).
The cycle of generations naturally results in the perpetual addition of new groups of young
people with different norms and values from those of the previous generation. Additionally,
there is a continuing shift in most of the countries studied from collectivism to individualism
(Hofstede, 1980, 2011; Triandis, 2018; Randau and Medinskaya, 2015; Schwartz, 2013).
725
Effect of social
and economic
transitions
To continue reading
Request your trial