Work Values as Projections of Personal Values at Work: Evidence from Tourism and Hospitality Students

Despite the importance of work values in students’ career development, little conceptual research has focused on articulating the dimensions represented within the construct and the exploration of empirical validity has been lagging. We provide evidence of validity for the conceptualization of students work values as projections of their personal values at the context of work. The data were collected from a Millennial-aged sample (born between 1981 and 1997) of tourism and hospitality students from Asia. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we show that this conceptualization is reliable and has better fit than competing theoretical models drawn on theory of work adjustment and self-determination theory. The cognitive, instrumental, affective and prestige typology of students work values provides a theoretically aligned approach, valuable to practitioners searching to explicate candidate employees’ expectations towards work. It also connects the stream of work values literature with the field of basic human values, directing future research within and beyond hospitality and tourism.