Value-based Holistic Approach

to Career Development
Duane Brown
Principles:
1. Human functioning is greatly influenced and molded
by an individual’s value orientation which becomes a
bases for evaluating own action and the action of
others.
2. Values are acquired as a result of value-laden
information from the environment interacting with
the inherited characteristics of an individual.
3. Values, rather than interests, play an important role
in the career- decision making process
4. Values can be separated into life values (patience,
integrity, kindness, gratitude, love, growth, respect,
etc.) and work values (achievement, belonging,
concern for others and the environment, creativity,
financial prosperity, health activity, humility,
independence, interdependence, etc.)
5. Work values are subdivided into expressed work
values and implied (hidden) work values.
6. Career life choices are often based on expressed
work values which results to dissatisfaction,
unhappiness and even depression.
7. Implied work values are stable.
8. True values are capable of leading a person toward
focus, purpose, satisfaction and happiness.
9. Values have cognitive, affective and behavioral
components.
10. Each person develops relatively small number of
values that are prioritized in a value system.
11. A value is crystallized once it has a label that is
meaningful to an individual.
12. Values are prioritized if a client can rank the order
of importance of values in guiding his/her behavior
and if he/she can act according to that priority.

13. Once values are crystallized and prioritized, clients

can go on to career choice making.

14. Intrapersonal conflicts occur when a person holds

two conflicting values as equally important.
15. Highly prioritized values are the most important
determinant of life role choices if:
15.1. at least one of the options available will satisfy
the values held by the decision maker;
15.2. values based on information about the options
is available to the decision maker; and
15.3 the relative difficulty of implementing each
alternatives is approximately the same
16. When there is a value system match between the
worker and the occupation, there is congruence.
17. Life satisfaction is dependent upon fulfilling life
roles that satisfy all essential values.
18. The prominence of a role is related to the degree to
which it is expected to be a source of satisfaction of
essential values.
19. Intra-role conflicts arise when job demands conflict
with the values of the worker.
20. Inter-role conflicts occur when job demands
prevent the individual from satisfying his/her values
in other life roles.
21. Values are dominant factor in the decision making
process but self-efficacy and interests will also have
an impact on decision making.
Techniques Application
-Culturally -Career decision making process
sensitive -Provide counselors with information
interview needed in lifestyle planning
-Card sorts - Important for career counselors to be
-Standardize able to explain various types of
d values psychological data (interest assessments
clarification and personality type preferences) to their
surveys clients in value-based terms(Niles &
-Life Values Hartung, 2000)
Inventory -Counselors must work with clients to
understand the value-laden expectations
of specific workplaces, identify how their
own values may be in conflict with the
values of their desired workplace,
maintain their personal values, while
balancing their workplace values, and
how to advocate for acceptance of
different values in the workplace.
Criticisms
-Career decision making
will be difficult for
clients that are unsure
of what their values are
if they have conflicting
values (Seligman, 2004,
304).
-Decisions are based on
value priorities, thus if
values are not
prioritized, decisions
cannot be wisely made.
 Theory of Work
Adjustment
Rene Dawis
-continuous and dynamic process by which
workers seek to achieve and maintain
correspondence with the work environment
Principles:
1. Work adjustment is a result of the interaction between
a person (P) and his/her work environment (E).
2. Work environment requires the performance of certain
tasks
3. Person brings skills to perform the required tasks
4. Person requires compensation for work performance
and availability of certain conditions like safety and
comfort in the work place.
5. Correspondence is the degree to which the
requirements of the person and the environment meet.
6. The process of achieving and maintaining
correspondence is work adjustment (satisfaction of P
with the E; satisfaction of work environment with the
individual (individual’s satisfactoriness).
7. Tenure is the result of satisfaction and
satisfactoriness and is the principal indicator of work
adjustment.
8. Work personalities and work environments can be
described in terms of structure and style variables
that are measured in the same dimensions.
9. Style correspondence moderates the prediction of
satisfaction and satisfactoriness.
10. Four typical response styles of P and E:
10.1. Celerity – quickness of response
10.2. Pace – intensity of response
10.3. Rhythm – pattern of response
10.4. Endurance – persistence (length of time) of response
11. The better the style correspondence the greater the
satisfaction and satisfactoriness.
12. Other factors can have a bearing on P’s satisfaction,
satisfactoriness, and tenure.
13. Satisfaction and satisfactoriness can be affected by
person’s adjustment styles which may involve:
flexibility, activeness, reactiveness, perseverance.
14. Adjustment is a cycle.
14.1. P is dissatisfied because perceived
discorrespondence between his/her needs and value and
the reinforcers provided by E.
14.2. P initiates adjustment behavior by:
14.2.1. Acting (activeness) on E to reduce
discorrespondence and, thus, trying to change (1)E’s
reinforcers or (2)E’s skill requirements or (3) both
14.2.2. Acting (reactiveness) on self to reduce
discorrespondence by trying to change (1) own needs (2)
skills or (3) both
14.3. The length of time one would invest before quitting
reflect P’s perseverance
15. The adjustment cycle ends with P becoming either
satisfied again or dissatisfied that he/she leaves E.
16. When P’s adjustment style choices become more
established, flexibility, activeness, reactiveness, and
perseverance to traits.
Techniques
Step 1. Assessing abilities,
values, personality and
interests
1.1. GATB (General Aptitude
Test Battery)
1.2 Minnesota Importance
Questionnaire (MIQ)
Step 2: Measuring the
requirements and
conditions of occupations
2.1. Minnesota Job Description
Questionnaire (MJDQ)
Step 3: Matching Abilities,
Values and Reinforcers
3.1. MIQ
3.2. GATB
3.3. MOCS
Application Criticisms
-Matching jobs with an -TWA has failed to
individual’s abilities and values generate sufficient
through GATB (Sharf, 2010) research activity
-Using information about value -Few empirical tests
patterns helps counselors to see of TWA have been
how the values of their clients published to
match the values that are met support the theory
or reinforced by large number
of occupations (Sharf, 2010
-Job adjustment counseling
(those in the process of making
career choices, experiencing
work adjustment problems,
retirees who wants to continue
working but need to explore
career choices)
Technique Application
1. When seeking work – discuss the “fit” values, -Identify client’s
personality, and aptitude on how these affect abilities and values in
career choices order to meet their
• Sorting values occupational needs
• -list values -Plan initial career
• -discuss how the client is important to career choices to avoid the
satisfaction necessity of work
• -discuss how a new environment/workplace adjustment based on
might correspond with their values negative experiences
2. When adjusting to work – discuss where the -Work through and
discrepancy exists between the person and overcome work
the environment adjustment stressors
- Making it Better –present a job description for -Explore new or
an uninspiring job and ask client to describe alternative career
how they can adjust to the job choices when faced
with job termination or
retirement