Work Values of Thai Civil Servants: A Newcomer's Perspective

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the work values of 70 newcomers in the area of Thai civil service employed during fiscal years 2006 to 2007 in 14 ministries and to examine the factors influencing their work values. The original 16 work value items by Karl and Sutton (1998), with 5 additional Thai bureaucracy-related work value items, were used as measuring instruments. We found that newcomers ranked job security as highest in importance, followed by interesting work and full appreciation ofwork done. The results of the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) revealed that there were no significant main or interaction effects between gender, age, educational level, academic major, household income, and number ofdependents on any of the work values. Also, as hypothesized, gender, age, household income, and number of dependents were related to work values. Theoretical and practical implications (ie., psychological contract and public service motivation) are discussed.