 How are values formed?

How do they influence our attitudes toward our work and our
colleagues? Do values tend to stay fixed and static, or do they change over time?

Values are formed from childhood days (especially the formative years) to adulthood. Values
are formed through background and upbringing, culture, tradition, belief system, orientation,
environment, exposure, internet and education. All of these and more are the basis that develops
our values overtime.

The fact it that, a wide variety of factors influence how and what a person believes, but some
factors are more influential than others. Let’s explore some of these major factors and how they
impact beliefs over time.

Nature or Nurture

The human experience is shaped by a number of things, but most anthropologists assert
that nature and/or nurture are the primary reasons that people think and behave the way they
do. Influences from nature are thought to be genetic in nature and include things like an
individual's personality, temperament, and intelligence. In contrast, the nurture influences come
from the environment. These influences are developed by person's upbringing, his experiences,
and his education. Both play an important role in how people build their system of values and
beliefs, but the nurture influence plays a much stronger role in this particular situation.

Upbringing: You Can't Pick Your Family

The role of nurture is, perhaps, nowhere better illustrated than in a few dozen churches in the
Appalachian Mountains. Made popular by the reality TV documentary Snake Salvation,
thousands of Americans now know of the few hundred church-goers who routinely handle
venomous snakes as part of their church services. In these faith communities, it is not unusual to
see three generations of men engaging in the practice together.

To an outsider, this practice surely seems unbelievably bizarre and dangerous. To an insider, the
practice is a show of profound faith and commitment to God. When generation after generation
remains in the church, and continues the practice of using snakes in worship, the power
of upbringing is on full display. Upbringing, an individual’s experiences in the developmental
stages of life, is profoundly normalizing. In other words, if you've never been surrounded by
people who don't handle snakes in church, you would have no reason to believe that the practice
is unusual.

Values in the Workplace

Values can strongly influence employee conduct in the workplace. If an employee values
honesty, hard work, and discipline, for example, he will likely make an effort to exhibit those
traits in the workplace. This person may therefore be a more efficient employee and a more
positive role model to others than an employee with opposite values.

Conflict may arise, however, if an employee realizes that her co-workers do not share her values.
For example, an employee who values hard work may resent co-workers who are lazy or
unproductive without being reprimanded. Even so, additional conflicts can result if the employee
attempts to force her own values on her co-workers.

It is important to note that values changes overtime, depending on the level of exposure,
education and other belief systems. Values are not static; they vary across time and between
groups as people evaluate, debate, and change collective societal beliefs. Values also vary from
culture to culture. For example, cultures differ in their values about what kinds of physical
closeness are appropriate in public. It’s rare to see two male friends or coworkers holding hands
in the United States where that behavior often symbolizes romantic feelings. But in many
nations, masculine physical intimacy is considered natural in public. This difference in cultural
values came to light when people reacted to photos of former president George W. Bush holding
hands with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in 2005. A simple gesture, such as hand-holding,
carries great symbolic differences across cultures.
References:

1. Scott Tuning, July 10, 2017, How People Develop Values and Beliefs.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-do-people-develop-values-beliefs.html

2. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/social-norms/
3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/drivers-of-behavior/