Not a Fit: What Happens When Your Values Aren't Aligned with Your Work (Part Two)

As I discussed in Part One, our values influence every major aspect of our lives, including our work. Our levels of satisfaction at work have huge implications on other parts of our lives. Stress at work can result in strained family relationships and it can have negative side effects on both our physical and mental health. The breakdown of these can have dozens of other consequences which can further deteriorate our quality of life. For members of previous generations work was “just work” and one would go a job to support their family whether they liked it or not. But as a society we have become more aware of occupational health risk factors as well as the drivers of human behavior. With that said, we have been becoming more selective of the work we are willing to do not only in order fulfil our needs for achievement but also to preserve our long-term health and sanity.

               The starting point for understanding what will help us find satisfaction in our career is looking at our core values. While our values may change over time as we encounter different experiences, they are more reliable than looking for happiness. Happiness is a feeling and feelings are subject to change much more easily and more frequently than the values which are at the essence of who we are. And as we often find ourselves working more than we are spending quality time with our families, engaging in recreational activities, and even just taking a break for our own personal self-care routines, it is important that we are spending that 40+ hours a week aligned with our core values and not having an internal struggle performing work which directly conflicts with what we consider to be moral.

               In the previous segment, I mentioned that companies are failing to align the execution of their management with their core values and nearly just as many employees are failing to find themselves in organizations that align with their core values. I suggested part of the problem is that there exists a lack of self-awareness with many people who have not exactly outlined their core values and, therefore, struggle to intentionally align themselves with what they believe. Below is an exercise to help anyone outline their core values, their areas of flexibility, and what they are unwilling to compromise themselves on.

1)     Discovering Your Core Values

a.      What do you consider your values to be? Write down all you can think of.

b.     Why is each of them important to you?

c.      What would you consider the top three to five to be? List them out in the order from most important to lesser importance.

d.     Why did you choose this sequence?

e.     In what ways do these core values play apart in your daily life?

f.       In what way do these core values play a part in your work?

g.      In what part of your life/work are these core values in conflict with?

2)     Core Value Requirements

a.      In what part of your life are your core values a requirement?

b.     In what aspects of work are your core values a requirement?

c.      What are you willing to sacrifice in order to adhere to your core values?

d.     What have you already sacrifices in order to adhere to your core values?

e.     What was the end result in those instances?

f.       In what instances did you not sacrifices for your core values?

g.      What was the end result of those instances?

3)     Managing Conflicting Values

a.      What are the values which are in direct conflict with your top core values?

b.     Why does the conflict occur?

c.      Where do you encounter these conflicting values in your life?

d.     Where do you encounter these conflicting values in your work?

e.     How do you currently manage them?

f.       How satisfied are you with how you currently manage them?

g.      What can be improved in how you deal with conflicting values present in your life/work?

h.     What result do you believe will happen if you handle conflicting values this way?

i.        Is it worth changing how you manage conflicting values?

This assessment may take some time but, ultimately, it can help you to truly think through your core values and how to deal with situations where your core values may be in conflict with your personal and professional life.