Worldviews and Values in the Workplace [MICROLESSON]

This post is the first in what I hope will be a series of "microlessons." I want to take things I'm learning in grad school and present them in an abbreviated format for those who are interested. I think a lot of what I'm learning isn't specific to counseling psychology, and can be applied to life outside of academia. I'm very fortunate to have the means to attend one of the premier universities in the country; I hope through these microlessons I can share a little of what I'm learning in school with the world beyond the "ivory tower."

As a graduate student studying counseling psychology I have been exposed to many, many different models of thinking about and understanding people. Some of them are simple, others frustratingly complex. Rarely (if ever) does one theory or model attempt to explain the whole human condition. Almost always a psychologist or theorist choses a single aspect of personality, development, or behavior to explore and define. These models vary widely in subject, from occupational growth to personality formation to racial identity development.

Every once in a while I'll encounter a theory or model that resonates with me. I'd like to share one of these with you. I think this particular model gives us a helpful way of looking at individual and group differences, and I think the psychologist who constructed the inventory I'll be sharing with you puts an optimistic spin on it all.

When we talk about worldview in the realm of psychology we talk about how a person perceives her or his relationship to the world. Often we don't think about ourselves as having a particular worldview. This is mostly because we acquire our "worldview lens" at a very young age. It's easy to forget that not everyone sees the world through the same lens as we do.

A worldview can be broken down into different attitudes and values. For example, we can examine a person's attitude toward time, relationships, nature, or activity. I may have a different outlook toward interpersonal relationships than you have. And as you can imagine, my worldview is going to affect how I relate to you, how I communicate with you, and even how I might value you in relation to other people (who may share my own worldview).

There is nothing wrong with worldviews. We all have them. But what is important is that we understand what our own worldviews and values are, and how other people might have different values. Having this mutual understanding helps us communicate and collaborate more effectively. Knowing a little about your own lens can make you effective, and knowing about the lenses of others can make you empathic.

Paula Chu, one of the many psychologists who study systems of cultural worldviews, published an inventory in 1996 that helps us measure our worldview. This inventory looks at attitudes toward the four dimensions I mentioned above: time, relationships, nature, and activity.

Chu's inventory resonated with me because she looks specifically at how our worldviews and values relate to our attitudes toward work. I think that understanding how we exist in the workplace is universally valuable (at least for everyone who will ever have a job).

That said, click here to take the Personal Value Orientations Inventory. It will take 5-10 minutes. Go ahead and score it, and read what the author has to say about each worldview. Then meet me back here to "process" what you've learned.

PROCESS QUESTIONS

• Did you feel that Chu's inventory accurately assessed your worldviews toward time, relationships, nature, and activity?
• What was it like responding to the statements? Were some harder to rank than others? Were some very easy to rank?
• Out of the 12 questions, which statement did you have the strongest reaction to (either positive or negative)? What do you think that says about how closely you hold that corresponding value?
• If you haven't done so yet, read all of the explanations on the last three pages. What was it like reading them? What resonated with you?
• How do you think a coworker with a different orientation toward relationships might work with you? What about a coworker with a different orientation toward activity? How would you work with a coworker who doesn't share any of your orientations?
• What about a boss with different value orientations?
• Do you think your company or organization has a dominant worldview? Do you share the dominant worldview?
• How would the everyday work experience be different for a worker who shares the dominant worldview and one who does not?
• Why is it important that a company or organization recognizes all value orientations as valid?

It's important to remember the limitations of Chu's inventory. If you take it again tomorrow some answers might change based on your mood. This is a very basic way of looking at complex ideas, but the underlying lessons are the same.

It is a fact of life that for most people the workplace is the most diverse social setting they will regularly be in. The people we work alongside professionally are typically more varied and different from ourselves than the people in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our families. In fact, this is one of the most enriching parts of work life. Thus, understanding how we see each other through our worldview lens is an essential part of coexistence, inside the workplace and out.

If you'd like to compare your scores with another person's you can look at my scored Personal Value Orientations Inventory.