How Organizational Values Affect Employees
Organizational values communicate what an organization considers important.
Common examples include customer service, integrity, innovation, excellence, teamwork, accountability, inclusion, learning, and efficiency.
Experienced through behaviour
Employees do not experience values simply by reading them. They experience them through organizational behaviour.
Contradictions matter
If an organization says it values work-life balance but consistently rewards employees for working excessive hours, employees may experience a contradiction.
Consistency builds trust
If an organization says it values learning and provides meaningful development opportunities, employees are more likely to experience that value as real.
Stated vs Lived values
This creates an important distinction: Stated values are what the organization says it believes. Lived values are what employees actually experience through decisions and behaviour.
The need for alignment
Strong alignment requires the two to be reasonably consistent.
Evaluate Workplace Fit Accurately
Use Penagix to understand the values you need in a workplace, helping you look past stated values to find genuine alignment.
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