TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose A work orientation represents a person’s beliefs about the meaning of work – the function work plays in the person’s life and the constellation of values and assumptions the person holds about the work domain. Research has suggested that adults tend to favor one of three primary work orientations: job, career, or calling. Empirical studies have shown that adults with different primary work orientations tend to experience different work and career outcomes; however, scholars have not analyzed how or why an individual first develops a work orientation. In this study, we take a first step toward investigating the origins of adults’ work orientations.Design/methodology/approach We propose hypotheses drawing on extant literature on the development of work values and occupational inheritance. We test hypotheses using a retrospective research design and survey methodology, with a sample of working adults.Findings Work orientations are developed through socialization processes with parents during adolescence. There are different patterns of development across the three work orientation categories: stronger calling orientations are developed when both parents possess strong calling orientations; stronger career orientations develop in accordance with fathers’ career orientations; and job orientations are related more to the nature of the adolescent’s relationship with parents than with parents’ own work orientations.Originality/value This research provides the first empirical study of the origin and development of work orientations.Research limitations/implications This research offers insight into ways generations are connected through the perceived meaning of their work, even as the nature of work changes. We encourage future scholars to use this as a starting point for research on the development of work orientations, and to continue exploring these questions using additional methods, particularly longitudinal study designs.
VL  - 25
SN  - 978-1-78350-572-2, 978-1-78350-571-5/0277-2833
DO  - 10.1108/S0277-283320140000025003
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320140000025003
AU  - Dekas Kathryn H.
AU  - Baker Wayne E.
PY  - 2014
Y1  - 2014/01/01
TI  - Adolescent socialization and the development of adult work orientations
T2  - Adolescent Experiences and Adult Work Outcomes: Connections and Causes
T3  - Research in the Sociology of Work
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 51
EP  - 84
Y2  - 2024/05/10
ER  -