Introduction

A value is a principal or standard that is held in high esteem by an individual and is related to all aspects of one's personal and work life. You may have values around family, work, spiritual, leisure, personal, etc. In this exercise you will focus on your work values. As you rank each value, think about how important the value is to you in a work setting.

As you consider your work related values, keep in mind that there are no right or wrong work values; rather it is a process of identifying what matters most to you rather than someone else.

Source: Various resources present inventories of this kind. Many are based on the theory of Donald E. Super.

Learning outcomes
At the end of the exercise participants will be able to:

• Understanding the different dimensions of values

• Identify his/her own values in relation to the work environment

• Understand the importance of being aware of own values in life and for work

About the exercise

The aim of this exercise is to assist the individual in becoming more aware of his/her own core values and values related to the work environment. This is done through going through and inventory/exercise which leads the individual into categorizing own values based on importance and situation. The result provides an overview of the top 5 values which are important for the individual to take into account in life and at work.

The one who guides the process will need to introduce the exercise (concepts presented and the notion of values) to the individuals/group and provide a relaxing environment for conducting it. The guidance person needs to be available for clarifying if questions come up during the exercise, and assist people in the end to link the results to everyday life and work through a indiviudal interview or group guidance.

The exercise takes about 40-60 minutes.