Compensation: What Influences Workersʼ Sense of Values?

To promote pay equity convincingly, job evaluation systems need to be free of bias, one of which comes from improper attention to the nature of the compensable factors being analyzed. Compensable factors and the weight accorded to each involves a value judgment. Understanding the values different people hold heavily depends upon how a person's various attributes affect values about work. The study uses the Work Values Opinionnaire (WVO) to profile health care workers' attitudes toward their work and its value. The WVO elicits information about several categories of compensable factors, including: 1. physical skills and effort required, 2. mental skills needed, and 3. work conditions and work hazards. Using a Likert Scale rating from one to 5, respondents had the opportunity to weigh the factors according to their value for compensation. The study supports the idea that the work values employees held differ according to membership in various demographic groups.