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Can Values Change?

Values are the foundation of life because they are the lowest common denominator of everything we do. There are values that go beyond times and places and are not negotiable, even though the world changes. They can be defined as a set of personal virtues that guide the way we interact with the outside world, or as a set of abilities, both moral and intellectual, in the head of a subject.

In the world of work, however, very often values are considered in the background or not even taken into consideration. In fact, by analyzing various reports that are normally used in organizations, even in the most accurate ones, attention is mainly paid to the more material variables of the work, excluding the more personal and intimate sphere of individuals from the research field. This, therefore, leads to a myopic vision, which prevents us from grasping the subjectivity of the work.

When it comes to work, it is common to speak, even in public debate, about tasks, skills, and objectives, referring to the human side only in relation to production, efficiency, and know-how.

Although these issues are fundamental, particularly in times like the current ones in which technology is able to replace the act of human work in many fields, we should look deeper, investigating the human side of the worker and therefore putting the role under analysis. and the importance of the human value sphere in the field of work.

Because in a world that changes, and that is changed by human action, values stand as a fixed and stable point that guides the lives of people and only “then” of companies.

The individual, not only as a productive subject creator of goods and services but as a set of values that are the foundation of everything, is the real engine that allows companies to continue to thrive and innovate. Values such as the spirit of sacrifice, the sense of belonging to a group, the curiosity to explore unknown fields of knowledge, and the desire and courage to test themselves; these are the values that push people to give their best and then be workers with skills and goals to achieve. That value that today and tomorrow will allow workers, artisans, and entrepreneurs not to be replaced by technology, but to be able to readjust, evolve, and become promoters of a new industrial and human revolution.

It should also be remembered that what people look for in work has changed over time, and therefore companies, as a result, need to review their value system. The last year and a half has been characterized by a huge change in our life and work habits and this has also changed our value system and therefore also our expectations on the values that we would like to be shared, and implemented, in the company in which we work.

The pandemic has shown and taught us many things. Before the pandemic, the first place among the macro categories of corporate values was “Ethics and integrity”, now the sense of community prevails, rediscovering our well-being in the well-being of others in the workplace.

No big slogans are needed, but flexible work environments not only in terms of times and places but above all in the management of people who, today more than ever, want to balance professional and private life in the best possible way.

Each crisis represents the opportunity to change our way of seeing things, to react, and to understand what is important and what is not.

Crises can be revelations because they force us to get out of our routine, they force us (or invite us?) To study and deepen what is happening around us, to put our priorities back in line, they allow us, at times, to understand our limits and discover new ways of behaving.

Aldo Delli Paoli
Aldo Delli Paoli
Aldo is a lawyer and teacher of law & Economic Sciences, "lent" to the finance world. He has worked, in fact, 35 years long for a multinational company of financial service in the auto sector, where he held various roles, until that of CEO. In the corporate field, he has acquired skills and held positions as Credit Manager, Human Resource Manager, Team leader for projects of Acquisition & Merger, branch opening, company restructuring, outplacement, legal compliance, analysis and innovation of organizational processes, business partnerships, relations with Trade Unions and Financial Control Institutions. After leaving the company, he continued as an external member of the Board of Directors e, at the same time, he has gone back practicing law and was a management consultant for various companies. He has been also a columnist for newspapers specializing in labor law, automotive services and work organization. His interests include human behavior in the organizational environment, to the neuroscience, the impact of new technologies, the fate of the planet and people facing poverty or war scenarios. He loves traveling, reading, is passionate about many sports, follows the NBA and practices tennis.

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7 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Very interesting post, Aldo.

    I like your definition of values ” They can be defined as a set of personal virtues that guide the way we interact with the outside world, or as a set of abilities, both moral and intellectual, in the head of a subject.”

    Grasping the meaning of values as you described it highlights the importance of hiring employees with high values. It then becomes surprising that we still ignore values when recruiting or evaluating employees. The emphasis on skills is lopsided and can be risky for if we hire employees with the wrong values how can we trust them?

    It is a worthy issue for deeper considerations.

    • Thank you for sharing your ponderings!

      I think that bringing out the beliefs of the candidates can help to understand, during the hiring phase, if it is possible to combine corporate values and personal values.
      Combining corporate values and personal values is important to outline a clear corporate vision. It allows managers and collaborators to establish a cohesive work environment where everyone acts to achieve the set goals.

  2. Thank you Aldo, for sharing some thought on a most interesting topic and your question is truly Powerful.

    Many of us take so many things for granted and develop our values from our childhood to adulthood, influenced by and all exposure – response to external stimuli.
    Some years ago there was a kind of comparative study, I believe, from 23 countries which created a theory of basic human values by identifying 10 motivationally distinct types of values that are likely to be recognized within and across cultures: power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition.

    Values are individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another. They serve as a guide for human behavior. Generally, people are predisposed to adopt the values that they are raised with. People also tend to believe that those values are “right” because they are the values of their particular culture. These finding would include people from the remotest parts of the world to great metropolises.

    Please allow me to share a small list of so called ‘values’ one might have.

    Authenticity, Achievement, Adventure, Beauty, Boldness, Compassion, Challenge, Curiosity, Determination, Fairness, Faith, Fame, Friendships, Happiness, Honesty, Kindness, Learning, Loyalty, Meaningful Work, Openness, Optimism, Pleasure, Popularity, Recognition, Respect, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Stability, Success, Status, Trustworthiness, Wealth, Wisdom and so on.

    Factually, our personal values are our moral compass of what to say, how to behave, how to treat ourselves and others, and what life choices to make.

    To answer your question, “Can values change?”

    Absolutely, YES… they can and in most cased SHOULD change, however little it may be, as we endeavor to understand / determine a somewhat wholesome picture other people’s inner landscape. It can help us in our interaction and how to treat them, speak to them, appeal to them, or convince them to, perhaps see what you are actually all about. It is a valuable insight to have.

    • JONATHAN, thank you very much for reading and offering your insights.

      I share everything you have mentioned and understand the effort to standardize some values.
      Values ​​represent the heart of a company. For this reason, it is essential for the survival of the company to ensure that managerial behaviors are in line with the values ​​and to re-orient those who do not have them in line. In the absence of this, the organization will be misaligned with its values, the cost of coordination will increase, performance will not always be adequate and, above all, managing changes effectively will become almost impossible. No company today can afford this!
      Values ​​are what we believe in and on which we base our lives, make decisions and set our priorities. Of course, values ​​belong not only to individuals but also to organizations. For an organization, values ​​are something that people believe in and correspond to a set of needs, desires and purposes that guide and orient their behavior. They are the basis for the success of the corporate mission, for the execution of the organization’s vision and for its position towards its market.

  3. Excellent piece, Aldo.

    And a curiosity – or perhaps not – when people have similar values, they collaborate and cooperate better because they are not as often surprised by how other people prioritize and, hence, trust each other more.

    So organizations should probably look a little more into this otherwise overlooked subject.

    • So glad, Charlotte, you found value in this one,
      Yes, working groups that are close-knit and cohesive in values know what to do and how to do it, finding meeting points and common objectives in an effective and efficient way.
      And therefore it is important in the recruitment phase to ascertain the ability of the apprentice to share the values of future potential colleagues.

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