Professional values: definition
Professional values are fundamental principles belonging to individuals. They are deployed in the professional context. Values at work are an expression of the personality of the employee or manager. They are essential to defining their identity. They are the continuity of our personality. We carry them with us every day, through our interactions with those closest to us, our colleagues and our customers.
Values at work, the driving force behind your success
Values at work are important. Putting them into practice on a daily basis within the company helps you to be recognized by your colleagues. They influence your behavior and your professional career. In order to progress within companies, employees are required to have certain values in order to accomplish their future missions.
Values are essential for leading a team of several employees. They undoubtedly influence relationships with your colleagues. They are also important for making strategic decisions in line with your value system. They are a moral and operational reference point.
Why identify your professional values?
For professional interviews
Identifying your values is important when you're looking for a job. The recruiter is likely to ask you about your principles and qualities at work during your interview. Companies are looking for people with specific values. Even if this quest is only an appearance for some companies wishing to give themselves a good CSR conscience and appear virtuous in order to attract candidates, there can be no doubt that many employers are sincere in their approach.
Cultivating well-being in the workplace and avoiding burnout
Identifying your professional values is a prerequisite for cultivating your well-being at work. It's an excellent way to work in harmony with yourself. According to a study carried out by OpinionWay in 2022 and relayed by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, 34% of French employees are said to suffer from burn-out, 13% of whom are in a severe state. The subject is still taboo in France, and is deliberately or inadvertently stigmatized. Yet this public health phenomenon is rigorously monitored by the French National Authority for Health, which defines it as burnout syndrome:
"Physical, emotional and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged investment in emotionally demanding work situations".
Values are therefore important if you are to develop fully in your job. An employee whose personal values don't match his or her job may find it impossible to find fulfillment and meaning in his or her daily tasks.
How can you coordinate your values with your work?
More and more companies are highlighting their values and looking for them in future employees. To successfully coordinate your values with your work, you must accept to be the standard-bearer. Wear them proudly and demonstrate that they have a significant impact on your day-to-day collaboration with colleagues and customers. Be the ambassador of your own values.
When your values are not recognized at work, a state of malaise and frustration systematically emerges. Something breaks down between you and your team or supervisor. If your colleagues don't respect your values, it's a lack of benevolence. Perhaps it's time for a change of company.
Find a job that matches your personal values
Finding a job in line with your personal values is the key to cultivating quality of life at work. QWL, or Quality of Life at Work, is an increasingly common approach within companies. Values are much more than mere points of view. They embody your way of being. In the long term, employees will find it difficult to be two different people in their personal and professional lives. Job satisfaction is largely based on personal fulfillment. But how can you achieve personal fulfillment when you can't be yourself in your company and deal with behaviors that run counter to your code of conduct?
To find a job that matches your personal values, you need to put your future employer through a real casting process. You can opt for the following strategy:
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Research the company's values on its website.
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Check employee reviews on recruitment sites.
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During the job interview, discuss these values with your interviewer.
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Gauge the company's values through your interviewer.
For example, if you're concerned about protecting the environment, don't just look at the company's website to judge its commitments. Do some in-depth research on the Internet to check that words are consistent with deeds. The aim of this approach is to enable you to distinguish between companies with a genuine commitment to their values and those who are merely communicating to cultivate a false good image.
Examples of inspiring corporate values
Depending on the company, a culture of values is encouraged. Décathlon, for example, wishes to base its management on four fundamental values:
- authenticity
- vitality
- responsibility
- generosity
At Décathlon, France's leading sports retailer, these four pillars are used to identify managerial talent.
Let's take the example of another French company, Leroy Merlin, the leading specialist DIY retailer. The company has selected seven values:
- honesty
- generosity
- respect for others
- proximity
- simplicity
- regularity
- the spirit of performance
They are cultivated to benefit every individual working in the company, and are also customer-focused. In the case of Leroy Merlin, the values of consistency and performance spirit are presented as a commitment by employees to produce results in line with set objectives.
Let's choose a third example to illustrate corporate values: Starbucks, the world's leading coffee shop. The Siren's company emphasizes four fundamental values:
- Create a culture of conviviality and belonging.
- Show courage, challenge the status quo and find new ways to grow the business and ourselves.
- Listening, with transparency, dignity and respect.
- Surpass ourselves in everything we do, and take responsibility for the results.
These four pillars, each encompassing several values, serve the company's mission on a daily basis, as expressed in its slogan: "To inspire and nourish the soul through encounters, coffee after coffee, from one community to another."
Written by our editorial expert
May 22, 2024
