Paradoxes of value change: Critique of post-materialistic work orientations

Abstract

Recently, there has been a tendency to evaluate the transformation in work values in terms of Inglehart's value change thesis. This tendency argues that extrinsic values, such as wage and job security, have lost their importance in work orientations whereas intrinsic values, such as self-realization or autonomy, have been embraced. However, the discussions that have taken place in work sociology during the last 25 years are mainly based on a growing lack of security in employment and work conditions rather than on the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic values. This study will compare Inglehart's value change viewpoint with other viewpoints on the structural conditions present in job insecurity. This comparison will be based on Sennett and Doogan's analysis and will argue that Inglehart's value change thesis is actually a discourse that helps to form the stereotype required for flexible production, thus enabling the internalization of market discipline.