Organizational values and workplace satisfaction: A text-based analysis of employee-reported values in German companies

Organizational values shape workplace practices, employee experiences, and HR outcomes such as recruitment, retention, and employer branding. Yet measuring these intangible constructs remains challenging. This study applies natural language processing to analyze employee-reported organizational values from 880 German companies (2012–2019), examining how Schwartz’s basic human values manifest in workplace contexts and relate to workplace satisfaction. Using a German adaptation of the Personal Values Dictionary, we analyzed open-ended text responses from more than 500,000 employees describing their employers’ values. We examined three questions: (1) the structure of values at the organizational level, (2) variance in values within and between industries, and (3) associations between organizational values and workplace satisfaction. Results show that universalism, achievement, and benevolence are the most frequently referenced values in organizations. Multidimensional scaling reveals that the organizational value structure partially differs from Schwartz’s individual-level theory, reflecting distinct organizational goals. Industry type explains only 6.6% of the variance in value expression, suggesting considerable organizational leeway in shaping culture beyond institutional constraints. Organizational values show strong correlations with workplace satisfaction: self-transcendence values, particularly benevolence ( r = 0.39), correlate positively, while self-enhancement values, especially power ( r = –0.63), correlate negatively. These patterns align with predictions from self-determination theory regarding need-supportive versus need-frustrating work environments. The study demonstrates the utility of text-based measurement for capturing organizational values and their relationship with employee outcomes. By extending Schwartz’s value theory from the individual to the organizational level through employee-generated text, findings reveal systematic deviations in how values structure and function in organizational contexts. For HR practice, results underscore that values emphasizing care, fairness, and ethical treatment are central to workplace satisfaction, a key driver of retention and performance.