Comparative Analysis of Work Values Across Four Nations

Work values are important factors in career counseling and development. The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance of Terada's () Vocational Values Inventory, as well as compare the means of 5 latent variables across 4 nations (Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Germany) using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the assumptions of configural, metric, and intercept invariance were satisfied across the 4 nations. A comparison of the means of the 5 latent variables indicated that job security, an extrinsic work value, was perceived as the most important work value across the 4 nations.