Work Values and Transformation: The South African Case, 1990–2001

Research shows that employees in advanced industrial economies are displaying a distinct shift away from traditional work values that stress both physical and economic security towards individualized work values that stress self-development, autonomy and growth. Over the last two decades numerous internal and external forces, largely related to processes of democratization, have altered the nature and structure of the South African society, resulting in a vast array of values that are of particular significance to the sociology of work in South Africa. The present article therefore sets out to examine the extent to which work values in South Africa have changed in the direction of individualisation between 1990 and 2001 and whether there are differences in the nature and direction of this change between the various social categories defined by race, gender and occupational level. The results of the analysis suggest that work values relating to the distribution of power in the organization have become increasingly individualised, while values relating to work preferences and authority display the opposite trend. The analysis concludes by examining a number of explanations for the value changes described and attempts to infer implications for the formulation and implementation of workplace policy and practice in South Africa.