Why is it good for businesses when personal values and company values align?

If you’re working in 2021, you are witnessing what we are all calling the great resignation. One of the reasons why people are looking for a new job is because they are looking for company values that align with their personal values. This alignment is so important that in a new study from Blue Beyond Consulting, 52% of workers would quit their job because of this notion. One out of four people would accept a position if the company and personal values are not aligned. As business evolves. three out of four employees expect their company to be a change for good. 

Working within your core values is hugely important, even if we’re just becoming aware of it now. There are so many people leaving their jobs because so many people have felt miserable while at work without pinpointing what exactly is making them feel such a way. Disengagement, burnout, and other negative consequences can be attributed lack of aligned values. Most would try to blame the overbearing job that expects long hours and no acknowledgement, but this type of work environment is not the only culprit. The work environment may be great, but the employee may feel a disconnect from the company because there is no reference point to evaluate the company’s mission and values. Employees, like myself, wish to be a part of something larger than themselves. They would want their contributions to be meaningful in a way to accomplish that larger purpose. When a person reaffirms their values within the companies, engagement occurs.

What Are Your Values?

To know if you align with your company’s values, you must first know your own. You have to really dig into what is important to you. What is the conduct that someone displays that you dislike? What are some of values that people you admire display? It’s not enough to have values, but you also should know what makes these values unique to you. Let’s say you value respect. Well what does that actually mean? Respect is such a broad term that it could mean different things to different people. 

Leading with Values

There’s two thoughts to what leadership is. One is feeling you’re the boss. The other is taking responsibility for the world around us. I tend to put myself in the latter definition. If you feel this way too, in order to be a leader, you must be comfortable with who you are as a person. This helps allows you to serve the greater purpose of what you deem to be in your organization.

Values are our fundamental beliefs that are the motivating drive behind our actions. If our goals are an indication of where we want to be, it’s our values that determine how we get there. 

Values include characteristics such as honesty, integrity, determination, friendship, kindness, empathy, service and sincerity. They help us determine what’s important to us and how we want to show up in the world. When we don’t live in line with our values or are not clear on our values, then there can be feelings of unhappiness and unfulfillment. 

Why your values matter at work

Companies, like individuals, have core values. They are one of the biggest drivers of company culture and performance. And, when your values are in-sync with the company you work for, you’re more likely to thrive. Just think about the aid workers volunteering their time in sometimes tough conditions to help others, for charity organisations underpinned by a shared value of service before self.

Of course, the opposite is also true. For example, if your core values are about operating honestly and with integrity, you’re not going to enjoy working in a workplace or industry that is shady or underhanded. Misalignments can lead to a disconnect, leaving you unmotivated and unhappy. With so much of our lives spent at work, any misalignment can then create apathy, presenteeism and resentment or, potentially even lead to burnout. 

In our 2022 Candidate Motivators Report, 46% of senior leaders said that a mismatch between the organisation's values and their own contributed to them looking for a new role. You could use the concept of Ikigai to help you through this process to identify what you love doing, what you’re good at, how it can help people, and how that links to your work. This will help you clarify what you value and how it lines up with your company’s values. 

Define your values with intention

Our values don’t always come easy to us. They require deep internal reflection and perhaps even external guidance (ask your closest friends and loved ones how they see you). Consider:

Employees who say their company’s mission, vision and values align with their own are far more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work (70% vs. 25%) and to say their work gives them a feeling of personal accomplishment (72% vs. 29%), according to new research from Qualtrics. They’re also less likely to say they are thinking about leaving their current employer (33% vs. 44%).

On the other hand, nearly half (46%) of employees in the United States and United Kingdom say they are considering leaving their company because it does not adequately exemplify the values they personally hold. And over half (56%) would not even consider a job at a company if they did not agree with its values.

But what issues do employees really care about? More than 2,500 full-time and part-time employees surveyed said honesty and integrity are the most important values for companies to uphold, followed by employee well-being.

At a time of low unemployment when the demand for labor outweighs the number of people available to do the work, employees now have a greater sense of power to demand more from their employers. A regular paycheck no longer cuts it when it comes to worker expectations. Increasingly, people look to their employer for everything including providing fulfillment with meaningful work, physical safety, mental health support and protection from discrimination. Here’s how setting the right company values and living up to them can make a big difference for retention and recruitment.

Gen Z is mostly likely to leave due to mismatch in values

While the majority (52%) of workers would be willing to take a pay cut to work at a company that has values better aligned with their own, research shows Gen Z and Millennials are the most concerned about company values when it comes to choosing whether to stay with their current employer.

• Gen Z is the most likely to say they would take a pay cut to work at a company with better values, with more than two-thirds (68%) saying they would take a 5% pay cut or more, compared to just 35% of Boomers.

And it’s not just the values of the company itself that matter. Overall, 39% of workers say they are likely to leave even if the company does business with customers, partners or suppliers that have detrimental values.

• Once again, younger generations are the most likely to be concerned, with 51% of Gen Z saying they are likely to leave a company because of who it does business with, compared to 26% of Boomers.

Most employees want to see leaders speaking out on current issues

Around the world, company leaders are taking a stand on everything from the war in Ukraine to homophobia. Nearly half of employees (49%) agree it’s more important for leaders to speak out on social, political and environmental issues now than ever before. And many want companies to go beyond making a public statement and take action.

• Only 27% say their companies are taking enough action against racism
• Just 25% are satisfied with their company’s approach to climate change
• And only 13% think their company is doing enough about human rights abuses against the world

Employee well-being, climate change and racism among top issues to address

The top issues employees would like to see leaders address are employee well-being, including mental and physical health and work-life balance. These issues are followed by climate change, racism and social justice.

But it’s important for leaders to get their stances right. Some 13% of workers would consider quitting if a company leader made a statement they disagreed with about a social, environmental or political issue. And refusing to speak out is almost just as risky. Nearly one in ten (9%) would consider quitting if a company leader refused to make a statement about something important going on in the world.

Ultimately, speaking out can open a door to a conversation. Although some employees say that, if they disagree with a leader’s stance, they would consider disengaging from work (18%) or walking out of a meeting (17%), a third (33%) would address it privately with the leader.

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Why is it important to integrate and align your actions with your values?