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The Role of Family Background, Education and Life Changes in the Work Values of Men and Women in the Czech Republic

This paper deals with work values as an important factor in individual career decisions. It relies on data from the PIAAC survey and the follow-up SKILLS II survey. Using a sample of Czech men and women 20–45 years old, we examine the factors that affect the formation of orientations to work as compared with family, and the values of high salary and career progress as compared with intrinsic enjoyment of work. Our results show the significant positive influence of family background for men and of higher education, especially for women, on an orientation to a job and to enjoyment of its contents. The orientation of men toward achieving high earnings is strengthened by the need to ensure income for their families, especially raising children, while for women, work centrality and perceived career importance increases after long periods of unemployment. The results show the contribution of high educational achievement to closing the gaps between the work-family orientations of men and women, but also a return to traditional gender roles during periods of childcare. In the conclusion we indicate directions for further research to focus on the different consequences of experiences with unemployment for men and women and on the role of cognitive skills in work values that are not always analogically related to formal education.

Online: https://doi.org/…OC2021-15699