The impact of studying abroad in a socioeconomically different country on work related values: Evidence from cypriot workers who were educated in the UK

Abstract

This paper analyses changes in work related values in individuals that studied in a country that is relatively more economically developed, more individualistic, less uncertainty avoiding and with a lower power distance score compared to their home country. This is done by comparing the responses of Cypriot workers who studied in the UK with other Cypriots that did not study abroad on a work values questionnaire and by interviewing workers who studied in the UK. Results suggest that workers who studied abroad consider intrinsic job characteristics such as challenging work, freedom to adopt own approach to the job and training opportunities as more important than locally trained employees whereas locally trained employees consider extrinsic characteristics such as pay, security and fringe benefits as more significant. The process of change in the workers who studied abroad seems to involve primarily dissonance and internal accountability. The main theoretical contribution of this research is the proposition that educational experiences abroad in a country with different socioeconomic characteristics compared to the home country can influence work related values and that this change takes place through a process of observing values differences and adjusting one’s values. Practical implications include that organizations are likely to become more diverse in terms of employees’ values because of education of employees in different cultural contexts and that this may have significant effects on management.