Skip to main content
Log in

The Importance of Work Goals: An International Perspective

  • Article
  • Published:
Journal of International Business Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paper probes into the basic question of what individuals seek from working. Results from a representative sample of the labor force in seven countries (n = 8192) showed that the two most dominant work goals are “interesting work” and “good pay.” These were consistent internationally, across different organizational levels, between the genders and among different age categories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

*Itzhak Harpaz is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Haifa, Israel. Harpaz is author or coauthor of the following books: Job Satisfaction: Theoretical perspective and Longitudinal Analysis, The Meaning of Working, and The Meaning of Work in Israel: Its Nature and Consequences. Areas of interest include organizational behavior, human resources management and cross-national comparative management.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Harpaz, I. The Importance of Work Goals: An International Perspective. J Int Bus Stud 21, 75–93 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490328

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490328

Navigation