Structure and Measurement of Work Values of Chinese University Students

Work values—a key aspect of global value systems—play an important role in people’s career and work lives. In this paper, we report on three studies that explored, developed, and established validity evidence for the structure of work values held by Chinese university students. In Study 1, we conducted an open-ended survey ( N = 881) and coded the responses using a grounded theory approach. Informed by these results, in Study 2, we developed a new scale—the Work Values Measure (WVM)—and extracted its structure using exploratory factor analysis ( N = 507). In Study 3, we established validity evidence for scores on the WVM by examining its psychometric properties ( N sample1 = 589, N sample2 = 547, N sample3 = 84). Results revealed a 10-factor structure of work values among Chinese university students, consisting of pay, comfort, security, fairness, development, relationships, prestige, meaning, variety, and self-direction. Scores on the WVM demonstrated good test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity. Overall, the results suggest that the WVM offers a reliable and valid means to assess the work values of Chinese university students.