Values and their relationship to attitudes about work

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between fundamentalism and certain work-related attitudes and behaviors. The research was based on the idea that fundamentalist churches socialize their members in values complimentary to capitalism. Specifically, it was hypothesized that fundamentalism would be positively correlated with attitude toward work, attitude toward supervisor, and faith-in-people. A questionnaire was designed to quantify these attitudes and measure specific work-related behaviors and limited demographic data.The sample for the study consisted of 39 blue-collar workers. Approximately half of the subjects were obtained from a local industry, while the other half were from four fundamentalist churches in the area.Pearson product-moment correlations revealed that fundamentalism correlated significantly at the .05 level with the three attitudinal variables (attitude toward supervisor, attitude toward work, and faith-in-people). It was concluded therefore, that fundamentalism did indeed relate to one's generalized attitude toward work.