Orientations to work: the cultural conditioning of motivation

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of 'orientations to work' as describing motivational patterns that structure and stabilise work values within a diverse workforce. The discussion builds on the seminal work of Goldthorpe, Lockwood, Bechofer and Platt (1968), but extends their analysis to: (i) develop a more general typology of orientations to work; (ii) provide an account of the emergence of the orientations described in the typology, drawing on the work of Marx and Weber; and (iii) establish a conceptual link between intrinsic and extrinsic work values on one hand, and professional and organisational commitment on the other. The typology of work orientations is then assessed empirically, using principal components analysis, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis to analyse data drawn from the National Social Science Survey.