Research Project on Work Attitude in Russia Free Essay Example

Assessment II: Research Project on Work Attitude in Russia By: 308262 (Anna Lozytska) For: Dr Michael Vieregge Unit: M003 – Human Resource Development Submission date: 15. 11. 2010 Table of Content: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Definitions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Earlier research on work attitude in Russia…………………………………………………………………. 9 Research Statement…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Data collection tool ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Sampling ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13 Work Attitude …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Attitude to management and innovations …………………………………………………………………… 15 Stress …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 Competitiveness, self-development and attitude to success…………………………………………… 16 Money ………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………. 7 Quitting a job …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17 Intention to work …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17 Discussion and Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………. 18 Trends …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8 Stable characteristics ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 18 References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19 Appendix A 2 Introduction „Everyone can bring a horse to the pond, but nobody can force it to drink?.

This Russian proverb is a good definition of work attitudes? role in company? s success. Today it has become a common sense that employees? ttitude and level of satisfaction are key elements in quality of products and, as result, company? s profitability and stability. Every single person has unique collection of values and beliefs, but it is usually based on „national? work attitudes created by county? s history and culture and that can? t be changed quickly.

So it is initial for management of any company to know basic work attitudes and motives of society which their employees belong to, and build their HR policy according to this knowledge. As Russia? economy rises, recovering big potential, many international companies open their subdivisions there and hire Russian citizens. They bring their experience and way of doing business, but they can? t bring their attitudes to people? s minds. It is widely known that Russians are quite reserved and resistant nation.

Their values and attitudes significantly differ from those that exist in Europe, North America and Asia and foreign companies often witness resistance and indifference to their corporate standards of behaviour.

Another gap is that not many foreign researchers take an effort to study Russian work attitudes and values. Swerdlow and Roehl (2003) investigated general features of Russian employees and stated that successful implementation of traditional Western HR strategies in the Russian environment shouldn? t be expected. Their research focused on Soviet cultural heritage and represents general picture of Russian society, but since that time there were dramatic changes in country? s life and values of younger generation could be changed.

More research was made in Russian institutions, such as The Institute of Sociology within Russian Academy of Science, but the most recent studies were held in 2007 and were focused on general values and work motives, mostly without separation of youth attitudes. So the author states that the topic of work attitude in modern Russia, especially of young people, is still undisclosed regardless of the fact that it is essential for management of foreign companies which enter Russian markets and want to invest in human capital.

To fulfil this gap, author sets next objectives for her research: ? ? ? ? ? to review literature and define what is work attitude and which influence on it; to study earlier research of work attitude in Russia; to collect and analyse the latest data on work attitude; to discuss results and compare them to earlier findings; to make a conclusion on work attitude in modern Russia and define latest trend. 3 Literature Review Definitions There are several definitions of what is attitude in general.

Graham (1998) defines attitude as „an inclination to perceive, interpret and evaluate people, events and issues in a certain way?. Due to DuBrin (1997), attitudes are „a predisposition to respond that exerts an influence on a person? s response to a person, things, ideas or situation?. Within general meanings of attitude, some authors pick out such field as work attitudes – collection of feeling, beliefs and thoughts about how to behave that people currently hold about their job and organisation (George and Jones, 2005).

Work attitude is seen as a „key element of individual? s behaviour within organisation? (Brooks, 1999). It influences on organisational commitment (collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their organisation (George and Jones, 2005)) and interacts closely with job satisfaction (the amount of pleasure or contentment associated with a job (DuBrin, 1997)) which is today? s one of the main targets of many HR strategies. If not taken into consideration, the conflict between employees? work attitude and HR strategy may result in employees? lienation – „feeling of powerlessness, meaninglessness, isolation and self-estrangement? (Weightman, 1999). Identified attitude gives answer about what to expect from employees and how to treat them in order to improve their attitude. But attitudes itself are complex result of different factors and each person has his/her own collection of determinants. Personality Individual, demographic and mental differences Work environment Content, colleagues, management, conditions, salary etc. Job attitude/ satisfaction Values, perceptions, motivation, expectations

Social influence Peers, family, culture, religion Fig 1. Determinants of work attitude/satisfaction: adapted from George and Jones (2005). 4 Personality Personality is the system of relatively stable patters that determine the ways of how a person feels, thinks and behaves (George and Jones, 2005). The word „relatively? is used on purpose to point the fact that every person is changing through all his/her life under influence of new life experience. Nature Biological heritage Nurture Life experience Personality Fig 2. Basis of Personality: adapted from George and Jones (2005).

The Fig. 2 shows two basic components that creates one? s personality in certain moment of time. And that is where all differences between people come from. Differences between people Mental Intellectual and practical intelligence Demographics Sex and gender (influence abilities and motivation), age and experience, race and ethics, disability Personal Extraversion, neuroticism, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, level of self-monitoring and self-esteem, psychological types and cognitive styles, emotional intelligence

Individual Productivity, abilities, talents, propensity for achieving high-quality results, desire to be empowered and involved, style of leadership they need and prefer, need to contact with other people, amount of commitment and loyalty Fig 3. Types of difference between people: adapted from DuBrin (1997), George and Jones (2005). Person? s background is the key to determining his/her values, perceptions, motives, patterns of reacting and behaviour and, as result, potential attitude and the way of changing it.

Values Combining definitions of DuBrin (1997), George and Jones (2005), values are something that a person considers as important and worthy to strive for or to behave in certain way. Values aren? t innate component of personality and are being created during person? s life by key 5 people, society, situations, religion, culture etc. (DuBrin, 1997). While managing work attitude and motivation, first of all work and ethical values are taken into consideration1. Perceptions Perceptions – various ways of selecting, organising and interpreting the things that happen in the outside world and acting due to this interpretations. DuBrin, 1997; George and Jones, 2005) Emotionally Changed Stimulus Person as perceiver Perceptual Conclusion Mental Processes: Denial Stereotyping Hallo effect Projection Selective perception Locus of control Fig 4. Perceptual Process2: adapted from DuBrin (1997) Perceptions play the role of filters and every person has an individual collection of them due to his/her life experience. Even if managers know employees? values, but unaware about how people perceive different things, it usually leads to conflict based on misunderstanding and, of course, worsens work attitude.

Expectations Expectations are considerations that people have about something that most likely to happen in future (Wikipedia, 2008). They may refer to things, other people, organisations, events etc. Expectancy theory, which is widely used in HRM, describes expectations as „deliberate choices to engage in activities in order to achieve worthwhile outcomes?. Within working environment the „set of expectations that employees and organisation have to each other? is 1 Work values – „employee? s personal convictions about what outcome one should expect from work and how one should behave at work? ethical values – „personal convictions about what is right and wrong? (George, 2005). 2 Stereotyping – widely held generalisation about of group of people (Wagner, 1995; DuBrin, 1997; Weightman, 1999); hallo effect/error – psychological phenomenon when particular attribute determines overall perception (Brooks, 1999; Wagner, 1995); projection – when perceiver assumes that his/her own motivation explains the behaviour of others (Wagner, 1995; DuBrin, 1997); locus of control – way in which people look at causation in their lives: internal and external (DuBrin, 1997; Brooks, 1999). called psychological contracts (Brooks, 1999). They are very important part of organisational interaction as they help to set „the rules of the game? and clarify the real outcomes that participants will gain within certain behaviour. When unmanaged, wrong expectations lead to decrease of motivation and worsen attitude: high expectations lead to disappointment, low ones – to indifference. Motivation Motivation – „all drivers, forces and influences that cause a person to want to achieve certain aims? (Graham, 1998).

In a HR setting, motivation is the process of encouraging employees to behave in certain way and maintain this behaviour in the interest of achieving organizational goals (DuBrin, 1997). Motivation is rather derivative from all factors mentioned above, it couldn? t exit without them. Different motivation theories are based on applying to different aspects which their authors consider as the most important in defining employees? attitudes and drivers. Fig. 5 presents the most popular motivation theories used by modern managers.

Motivation Theories Content Herzberg? s Two Factors Theory Maslow? s Hierarchy of Needs McClelland? s Achievement Need Theory Process Vroom? s Expectancy theory Adam? s Equity Theory Locke? s Goal Theory Heider? s Attribution Theory Fig 5. Classification of Motivation theories: adapted from Brooks (1999). Work environment Work environment includes everything that a person deals with while doing his/her job: the content of job itself, colleagues, management, working conditions, salary etc.

Certain work attitude is actually a result of work perception and the process of matching it with ones values, expectations, personal goals and different aspects of personality (Brooks, 1999). The better one? s work matches with one? s values, expectations and personality the better will be work attitude and level of satisfaction. 7 Groups and group thinking It was often mentioned above that every person has unique set of personal characteristics that differ him/her from other people. On that point it seems to be useless to make a research on work attitudes of certain nation as all people are supposed to show different result.

It would be true if people used to behave in the certain way independently on situation. But people are social creatures and their behaviour changes dramatically when they fall into group. Group – any collection of people who perceive themselves to be a group, interact and psychologically aware of each other (Brooks, 1999). Individual behaviour may differ from one person to another when they act on their own, but when a person get into group, he/she starts behave according to group norms.

Group norms – „shared perceptions of how things should be done, or a common attitude, feeling or belief?. In working environment group norms define methods, amount of work that should be done, enthusiasm, relations with management, attitude to changes etc. (Graham, 1998; Brooks, 1999) Even though a person lose some individual characteristics within group, he/she gains some important benefits, such as satisfaction of social needs, getting shared experience, support and protection from group, status, self-expression and power (Graham, 1998; Brooks, 1999).

When the group is formed, it gains own behavioural characteristics: 1. Established system of relationship and customs among members; 2. Group may set restrictions on individual? s output; 3. Individuals often behave according to group norms when within the group rather if they would be on their own; 4. Group pressures on individuals to conform to its standards; 5. New members are usually made to feel unwelcome; 6. Group usually resists to changes and have slow reaction on them; 7. Group may choose different informal leaders depending on situation; 8.

Groups are similar to individuals in means of motivation: they perceive their own goals and resist aggression; 9. Character of the group usually doesn? t change when members join or leave the group (Graham, 1998; Brooks, 1999). As seen from mentioned above, group in some level is very similar to individual and can be characterised in same term. That gives a possibility to believe that members of one group will have similar attitude that can be investigated. Groups within certain country may have different size and basis (work, hobbies, culture, religion etc. , but they will always have some common features which are called „national character?. National character is a historical set of 8 national values and patterns of behaviour, common to major part of country? s citizens and a key to defining work attitude of representatives of certain nation. Earlier research on work attitude in Russia Swerdlow and Roehl (2003) mention next main cultural features of Russian society regarding work: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Power distance – people support leaders independently on their results, but don? involve them in personal life; Individualism vs. collectivism – Russians accomplish themselves through collective; Low level of self-confidence – common both for managers and employees; Uncertainty avoidance – Russians require certainty, structure and predictability; Personal relationship – personal connections play an important role in interaction and decision making; Dogmatism – great importance of habits and traditions, and, as result, lack of flexibility regarding new ideas. Resistance to rewards – rewards pit employee against roup, which creates discomfort; Reluctance to ask for help, take an initiative or engage in open communication. Distrust to such qualities as competitiveness, achievement and resourcefulness. These features are clearly the heritage of Soviet Union? s philosophy. And it is not surprising as at the time, when the research took place, most of economically active population were representatives of that epoch. But new generation, that will lead Russia in next 30 years, has grew up in different environment, so it is possible to assume, that their values differ from what is listed above.

Also this research doesn? t reveals inner motives and values that guide people in their attitudes. Four major researches were studied to investigate available knowledge about guiding work values of Russian citizens and how did their work attitude changed through last 20 years: 1. „Work Attitude of different groups of citizens: workers, unemployed and undergraduates? held in 2000 by Perova (2001) within Russian Public Opinion Research Centre; 2. „Dynamics of Work Values of Russian Citizens, 1991-2007? eld in 2007 by senior researcher of The Institute of Sociology within Russian Academy of Science Magun (2009); 3. „Dynamics of Values and Work Motives of Workers (2003-2007)? held in 2007 by PhD, senior researcher of The Institute of Sociology within Russian Academy of Science Bessokirnaya (2010); 9 4. „About Work Values and Work Habit? – article of Shmerlina (2007), based on research notes in 2007. The main questions were „What role did the work play in people life?? and „What were the main motives and values for people at that period??

Research overview gave next results. According to a survey conducted in 1989, more than half workers, while recognizing the importance of work in their life, however, noted that there are things far more meaningful than job. (Perova, 2001) External changes Dramatic changes during last decade of 20th century gave background for new values and motives. Destroying of centralised management resulted in development of private sector which allowed removing all kinds of restrictions on earnings and achievements and emerged new opportunities (Magun, 2009).

In the same time economic recession, degradation of many jobs, hidden unemployment and significant worsening of financial situation for many people have led to the change of stereotypes regarding life in general and particularly the work role in human life (Magun, 2009; Perova, 2001) Consequences In 1991 there were significant changes: almost double increase in the number of employees for whom work is important primarily as a source of livelihood, and in 1,7 times (from 54 to 31%) decreased the number of those for whom work is not prime importance (Perova, 2001).

The main values became the value of achievement (“opportunity to achieve something”) and “guarantees of employment” (Magun, 2009). Attitude to money also has changed – work for the money wasn? t already considered as evil, but as an opportunity, as a means for the experiencing freedom of choice and exceptional comforts. The idea of a successful working career was almost equally associated with high earnings among all professional groups. Achievement of high professional level, prestigious job, a high position and power over people also remained important both for men and women.

However, men were still more likely than women to explain the importance of good career as a possibility of obtaining better income, while for women work was important and interesting by itself, regardless of payment (Perova, 2001). Despite all that, initiative has not become more popular – at that period this index was in 1,71,8 times lower in Russia rather than in major Western countries (Magun, 2009). Young working people noted at that time that work didn? t take important place in their life, that there were things more important.

Their main work values were high wages (60%), professional excellence (27%) and fame, recognition and respect (16%). Judgments of students 10 about the importance of work in their lives didn? t differ from the views of working youth. The majority of students under the age of 26 years (61%) believed that their work was mainly important as a source of material benefits an additional 14% considered the importance of work to be interesting itself, regardless of the payment. Same as for elder workers, the main attribute of successful career (57%) in views of students was high income. 2% also believed that work should match one? s ability, knowledge and skills (Perova, 2001). Changes during 1999 – 2007 During 1999-2007 Russia witnessed slight recovery after deep recession. Despite the fact that economic situation was still complicated, the level of life became higher. Nevertheless, good salary still remained the main stimulus for people to go for work. But work values became more complex. Besides high salary, people started willing to have more convenient working schedule (especially women), longer vacations and not too exhausting job (Magun, 2009; Bessokirnaya, 2010).

When the issue of surviving decreased, people started considering as important relationships with colleagues, autonomy, and ability to communicate with people the opportunity to bring them more benefits. (Bessokirnaya, 2010). The new value – „interesting work? – appeared and has become common to two-thirds of respondents. In the same time, less people believed that work should match one? s abilities (Magun, 2009; Bessokirnaya, 2010). Importance of initiative and responsibility stayed at the same low level, as in 1991. (Magun, 2009; Bessokirnaya, 2010) Research Statement The Soviet heritage and historical changes in Russia? being resulted in several trends of development of citizens? attitude to work: 1. The growth of material interest – work has become more important primarily as the possibility of obtaining a livelihood; 2. Increase of importance of “employment guarantees” – job stability (which confirms Russians? aspiration for certainty); 3. Appearance of values „interesting work? and „opportunity to achieve some meaningful results?. Nevertheless, the aspiration for showing initiative and take responsibility stayed on the same low level as in the late 1980? s.

Also, the top of the hierarchy of the most important values in both men and women life retained the same – they are family, its material well-being, parenting and health. (Bessokirnaya, 2010) 11 Methodology In this research author aimed to study up-to-date public opinion on different aspects of work attitude that exists among Russian citizens. On this purpose both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data collection tool The data for the research was collected from the results of on-line surveys held by Research Centre of recruitment portal Superjob. u. The questionnaire presented in Appendix A is a collection of 41 separate surveys specified on values and work attitudes that took place during 2009-2010. Original regular survey consists of one question, several variants of answer and differential questions on sex, age, month income and sometimes education and marital status. For purposes of this paper only answers from younger people (younger than 30 years) and average on all ages were collected. Also data includes differential results on sex and, when such took place, marital status and education. 5% of results represent general public attitude without differentiation on age. Sampling Due to the Federal State Statistics Service of Russian Federation (2010), economically active population of Russia (15-72 years old) is 74,6 million people (more that 50% of whole population), where 67,7 million people are currently employed. For calculating sample size needed for research next formula was used: Description: n – required sample size; p – estimated proportion of an attribute that is present in the population; Z – confidence level at 95% (standard value of 1. 6); m – margin of error at 5% (standard value of 0. 05). Due to this formula, required sample size should be around 1 000 people. Average sample size of surveys used is research is 2 500 people, which satisfies requirement. Main methods used for data analysis were analysing percentage ratios, comparison and correlation. The surveys were equally approachable for all visitors of recruitment portal Superjob. ru, voluntary and confidential. The portal allows using the results of their research under the conditions of direct referring. 12

Data Analysis As mentioned above, on average 2 500 respondents gave answers on questionnaire during 2009-2010. Target group – people aged 18-29 years – amounts 1/4 of all respondents. Work Attitude Almost every person in Russia (98%) believes that the job should bring pleasure. In the same time, 71% of respondents don? t feel very happy and excited about their current jobs. Young people, especially men, show the highest level of indifference (46%), which becomes lower as they get older (40%). The possible explanation is that traditionally, men should earn money and take care of their families, for that reason they don? put too much effort in their job. It is confirmed by result of question ?3, which shows that big portion of young people, especially men, sees their job only as mean of earning money, especially when they are married and/or have children (around 53%). Women, on the other hand, are not expected to keep their families, so they tend to see their job more as a mean of self-actualisation, especially when they are young, not married and don? t have children (51%). Gratitude from management is the best stimulus for more than half of them to work better (54%).

It is also important for people younger than 23 (50% agreed on that), a bit less important for those who aged 24-29 (46%) and the least important among all group for men (39%). Even though a lot of men don? t see their work as a field for development, for 42% the process of self-improvement is the best stimulus to work better. Nevertheless, money continues to be the most important factor in work selection. Most of the people (30%) would give their preference to company which offers higher salary rather than good reputation or working conditions. Also it is important for employees to be sure about tomorrow (company? stability scored 20%) and to have opportunity for personal growth. The least valuable factors for people are company? s size, market share and corporate culture (probably, because of high level of indifference). But even though money has exceptional importance, it is not the only thing that people go to work for – 66% of them wouldn? t quit their job even if they were provided with such financial opportunity. No surprise, that fear to lose the job and not to be paid are dominant among all fears connected with job (16% and 10%), even though many people don? have any fears about it (20%). It is becoming popular among Russian companies to offer social securities in addition to salary (10-15 years ago it didn? t take place at all). The most valuable components are different types of compensations: sponsored education (41%), free/compensated meals (31%) and telecommunications (26%), interest-free loans (21%) and discounted vacation tours (20%). Russians are also very considered about health, probably because of overall low quality of 13 public institutions – health insurance and free gym/swimming pool scored 37% and 39% accordingly.

Family continues to be the biggest value for Russians. It is considered to be the last thing to sacrifice for work – only 1% all people older than 20 years would do this (3% for people younger than 19 might be explained by actual absence of family, so more of them believe that they could sacrifice it). Family is also considered to have positive influence on career by 80% of young respondents. The remark should be made for women, because traditionally they take care about house and family members, which creates higher pressure.

So there is slightly smaller percentage of them believes that family helps in career, but still stays on high level (76%). The first thing that people can sacrifice for work is their private lifetime (hobbies and rest – 46%). They could also sacrifice money: 19% of people, especially in age 20-29 and women (both 22%), would agree to work for less salary to gain valuable experience. At the same time, younger people (less than 19 years) are less ready for this – only 14% would agree on that. Significantly that quite big part of people – 22% – would sacrifice nothing for their job (especially people younger than 19 (25%)).

Another thing to sacrifice turned to be health treatment. Slightly lower for younger employees (91%), but still the majority of people admitted that there were cases when they had to go for a work while being sick. One of the reasons is that they didn? t want to lose money (34% of younger people and 27% of people aged 20-29), but the majority just couldn? t delegate their duties to somebody else (37% of younger people and 43% of people aged 20-29). It points at workers? responsible attitude on one hand and overall inefficient organisational structures on the other.

One more worrying reason, that explains people? s dominant desire to have a health insurance or higher income, is that on average 10% of them went for work because they just couldn? t get a sick-list (this problem even tougher for young employees who scored 13% on that reason). Not only going for a work in sick state points at responsible attitude, but also how employees respect working time. 64% of young people start their duties within 5-10 minutes after arriving on the work place (which is, nevertheless, lower than average for all ages (69%)).

Women need some more time to get started – only 25% start their work within less than 5 minutes against 30% of man – but it doesn? t change overall picture. More than 60% of young people devote most of working time to actual work – on personal business they spend less than 1 hour and usually it is such activities as tee breaks or having short chats with colleagues. Significant that the older people get, the more time they devote to work: 37% of younger people (less than 24 years) spend on their own business more than 1 hour during working day. This part is smaller for those nes, who are 25-34 years old – 25%. And average score for all ages is 20%. 14 Most workers, especially younger people (less than 19 years), don? t consider workaholism as a disease. Most of them, especially women, consider themselves as workaholics. The score is slightly higher for elder population, but the overall picture stays the same – 63% of young people suppose that they work hard. But on the other hand, their attitude to working overtime is mostly negative. People younger than 23 years, especially men, are more likely to work overtime, but their part is still minor – less than 10%.

All the rest believes that job should be done during the working day and overtime has to be exceptional, but not regular phenomenon. Attitude to management and innovations Overall relationship among employees and management, and employees themselves is seen to be quite reserved and indifferent. It was already mentioned above that corporate culture is one of the least valuable aspects of company. Another aspect – attitude to initiative – reveals the level of openness to changes and groups? cohesiveness. While answering the questions about attitude of different layers to one? initiative, 38% of people marked management? s attitude as positive and 31% – as indifferent, 35% of respondents told about positive attitude of collective and 36% – about indifferent. But the most significant thing is that when answering the question about their own attitude, 71% said they are positive about one? s initiative. This tells that even though people may support innovations and initiative, they still don? t want/afraid to disclose their opinion. Many of them mentioned that even though the attitude is seen as positive, it is still not rewarding from any layer to show initiative.

In attitude to management just minor parts of respondents feel love (1%) or hate (4%). These emotion are more common to women and people younger than 23. Around 13% of workers have sympathy to their bosses (again, mostly women: 15% of their part against 10% of men), but most of the employees show respect (40%) and indifference (32%). 85% believes that relationship between employees and managers should be business. Probably, because of high level of indifference or Soviet past, people (especially men (52%)) don? t have certain perceptions about manager? gender, but the preference is still given to men. But there is also not obvious, but still quite clear phenomenon: the higher percentage of women rather than men would prefer to be managed by man, and the higher percentage of men rather than women would prefer to be managed by woman. This gives a possibility to assume that people (especially women) feel themselves more comfortable when managed by a person of opposite gender. What is definitely clear is that Russians don? t like to be ruled by managers who are younger than they are.

Even though the level of indifference in this question is also high (28% on average for all ager, slightly higher for people 24-39 years old (31%) and slightly lower for younger people (26%)), around 40% of workers would feel uncomfortable to work with younger manager. It is especially true to women (42%) and people younger than 23 years (43%). 15 Another sign of indifference is workers? attitude to manager? s presence in office. Even though most of employees devote most of their working time to actual work, about 50% of them told that the productivity of work is lower when there is no supervisor on site. 8% of people younger than 23 years believe that manager? s presence decreases productivity (probably because they feel more nervous when supervised by somebody), but most people of other ages, who don? t think that manager? s presence increases productivity, don? t have clear opinion about this influence. The employees? reservation from management is also seen in the way of their dealing with conflicts with colleagues – only 2%, independently on age or education, would complain to manager, but the majority (86%) will deal with conflicts on their own. Finally, almost half of respondents wouldn? like to be managers of their current companies for different reasons (don? t want to have more responsibilities or don? t have enough knowledge). It is especially true for women – 60% of them said „No?. The men are more willing to become managers (45%), but still not when they are young. Stress The good side of high level of indifference is that almost half of people don? t witness stress too often. Its level increases as people get older – frequent stress is common to 30% of people younger than 19, to 35% of people 20-29 years old and to 37% of all ages (that means that more older people witness frequent stress).

To deal with it, people mostly socialise with friends and relatives (43%), go hiking (30%) and do sports (25%), play computer game (22%) and go for shopping (20%). Competitiveness, self-development and attitude to success Most part of employees, especially young ones (around 78%), would take part in professional competition if such one will be proposed. The people younger than 23 years are more likely to compete only for idea – that would be done by 38% comparing to 30% of average for all ages – but the highest motivation is reward from company.

It is also significant that workers with secondary specialised education are less willing to compete – their part is 69% against 76% of those who have high education. For self-development there is no clear opinion among young respondents. Even though they stated earlier on questionnaire that personal growth and possibility of sponsored studying are one of the most important factors for them, only 36% of people younger than 19 and 42% of people aged 20-29 years are willing to increase their competitive advantage. The rest think that either they are already leaders or they are just satisfied with what they have.

It is significant that younger people, while being the least qualified among all ages, are more confident about their leadership (19% against 16% on average for all ages) and less willing to improve 16 themselves (45% against 42% on average for all ages) which points at either overconfidence, or lower awareness about labour market, or low expectations on their careers. In attitude to success there is no significant difference in importance for young people between collective and personal success. The exceptional difference is seen only generally for men, who value personal success more (49%) than collective (36%).

Again, significant part of respondents (both young and older – 17%) are indifferent on that point. Money More than half of the respondents (54%) would be happy to work for monthly salary ranged between $ 1 000 – $ 5 000, mostly – $1 600 – $3 300. But if they will find out that their colleague with same duties gets higher salary, the reaction could be hardly predictable. Some people (33%), mostly younger ones (36%), will be stimulated to work better, another people (23%) will try to find out the reasons and around 25% will simply lose the desire to work better and do anything at all.

Quitting a job An average Russian, especially young one, thinks about quitting current job at least once a month – 60% of respondents have such thoughts, and the younger they are, the more of them think about it (61% comparing to 55% on average for all ages). But even though people often think about quitting their job and the overwhelming majority (90%) believes that unpleasant work collective climate may lead to it, in most cases (45%) people, especially men, quit their jobs in aspiration for higher salary.

Second, but less important motive, especially for younger people, is aspiration for higher job satisfaction – only around 11% of young workers would quit their job for that reason. Most part of people, especially the ones that younger than 19 years (68%), would inform the employer about their quitting in advance due to their responsibility, for saving relations and getting good references in future. For some reason, this number is smaller for people aged 2029 – only 60% would notify in advance and 40% will quit without prior notification.

Intention to work Almost half of respondents, especially men (53%), intend to work till the end of life, as they believe that while they work they live. Among young people the part that thinks so is lower, probably because they don? t think about it yet (the part of those who have no answer, is higher comparing to average for all ages). But in the same time people want to have a possibility change their mind when reaching retirement age, as they quoted mostly negatively (more than 72%) on government proposal to increase retirement age, arguing that many people are unable to survive even till current retirement age.

It tells that Russians? intention to work depends not only on their own desire, but also on working conditions and state of health. 17 Discussion and Conclusion To conclude general finding author states that Russian society is in the stage of transformation and conflict of traditional views, recent historical changes and the process of globalisation. Work became an important part of life for new generation and the older they get the more importance it gains. But there is no single trend in attitude to it: some young people see work as a possibility of self-accomplishment, and some still see only as a mean of earning money.

Trends The most significant changes happened in Russians? attitude to work for money and rewards. While being something condemned 20 years ago, getting higher salaries and professional rewards become more valuable for today? s generation. Also the attitude to collective success vs. individual one starts changing in direction of individualism, especially for men. Young people are becoming more confident. They are more willing to compete and achieve high results, but sometimes are seen to be overconfident about their capabilities.

Youth doesn? t already have a tough necessity of surviving so new values such as interesting and pleasurable job are developing fast. But the level of satisfaction with current jobs is quite low which reveals the conflict of expectations and reality. Influenced by traditional un-initiative attitude, younger people have high perceptions of being hard-working while not actually willing to put more effort in work than is demanded. It leads them to feeling of being undervalued and indifferent.

The author assumes that the reason of this phenomenon lays in conflict of traditional views and globalisation processes: young graduates pick up foreign ideas about the importance of successful career and job satisfaction, but are not supported by elder management and don? t clearly understand what exactly it means and how is achieved. Even though they believe that work should bring pleasure and match their abilities, they still choose jobs due to salary level and company stability, which doesn? t define the level of pleasure gained from job.

Stable characteristics The author thinks that there is a start of turning moment in social attitude to work, particularly to initiative: young people are ready for changes and innovations, but the old attitudes and unwilling to take more responsibility restrict them on disclosing their potential. So the level of initiative remains low. Same situation is about Russians? detachment – people are still highly indifferent about their organisations and don? t consider them as part of their life. Russians still search for certainty – company? s stability is second important criteria in workplace selection after salary level.

Basically, these two factors remains so valuable, because they support the most important aspects of Russians? life – family and its well-being. Family is still the ?1 value for most of Russians and none job or company is expected to be more important than that. 18 References 1. Brooks, I. (1999) Organisational Behaviour. Individuals, Groups and Organisations. London: Financial Times Management. 2. Creative Research Systems (2010) ‘Sample Size Calculator’. Available at: http://www. surveysystem. com/sscalc. htm#one (Accessed: 12. 11. 2010). 3. DuBrin, A. J. (1997) Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour.

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(2007) „? ???????? ????????? ? ???????? ? ??????? , ?????????? ??????????, 4, pp. 46-66. 20 Appendix A: Research data Research questionnaire with results 1 Should a job bring pleasure? 20000 respondents Yes No n/a 98% 1% 1% 2 Do you like your current job? 3500 respondents Variant of answer Very much Yes, but without fanaticism Indifferent attitude Hate N/a Age, years Education All Less Speci respondents Men Women than 25-29 High alised 25 11% 11% 11% 8% 11% 12% 11% 29% 27% 42% 47% 10% 9% 8% 6% 31% 38% 11% 9% 23% 46% 13% 10% 31% 40% 9% 9% 30% 42% 9% 7% 27% 43% 9% 10% Sex Your job for you first of all: 2200 respondents younger than 30 years Variant of answer Married Not Married With With No children No children children children Wo Wo Wo Wo Men men Men men Men men Men men Mean of earning money for possibility of development outside the profession, in more 56% 42% 53% 43% 48% 52% 45% 39% important fields (family, hobbies etc. ) Mean of self-actualisation and implementation of own 35% 43% 38% 45% 40% 38% 46% 51% potential in professional field which attracts me. N/a 9% 15% 9% 12% 13% 10% 9% 10% 21 If you would be paid salary without actual working, would you quit your job? 1800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 20-29 than 19 Yes, I would stay at home with 25% 23% 25% 27% 24% pleasure No, work is not only money 66% 67% 66% 59% 66% N/a 9% 10% 9% 14% 10% 5 What is the most important factor for your choice of job? 5000 respondents Company’s fame/image/reputation 4% Company’s size 1% Company’s stability 20% Company’s market share 1% Peaceful psychological atmosphere 8% High level of alary 29% Worthy social securities 2% Developed corporate culture 1% Efficient management system (clear 8% rules, objectives, structure) Opportunities for personal growth 18% Opportunity of corporate studying 2% Guaranties of work/life balance 6% 6 If you could compose your social package, what would you choose (choose thee the most attractive components) 15800 respondents Variant of answer Free/compensated meals Health insurance Free telecommunications Free gym/swimming pool Free ticket for public transport Grant of interest-free loan Possibility of purchasing company’s products/services with discount Studying paid by company Opportunity of getting discounted tours Opportunity of remote work Free working schedule Office transport Holiday presents 31% 37% 26% 39% 15% 21% 5% 41% 20% 4% 15% 19% 3% 22 Corporate events Other N/a 4% 1% 2% 7 Name, please, your main fear connected with job? 1000 respondents No fears 20% Fear to lose the job 16% Fear not to be paid 10% Fear of failure, mistakes 6% Fear of management 5% Fear of instability 4% Fear of disappointment in job 4% Fear of being undervalued and absence of career opportunities 4% Fear of colleagues 3% Fear of disability to find new job 2% Fear of cheating 2% Fear of lacking skills, education, knowledge 2% Other 15% N/a 7% Are you ready to move to another town because of job if you will be fired? 3000 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 24-29 than 23 Yes if it is in the same district 13% 15% 10% 13% 14% Yes, even if it is in another area 25% 30% 19% 20% 26% No 46% 40% 53% 48% 44% N/a 16% 15% 18% 19% 16% 9 How do you think family influences on career? 1800 respondents Variant of answer Definitely positive Mostly positive Mostly negative Definitely negative All respondents 31% 49% 17% 3% Sex Men 35% 48% 14% 3% Marital status Children Women Married 25% 51% 21% 3% 36% 48% 14% 2% Not Yes No married 26% 36% 27% 51% 46% 52% 20% 16% 18% 3% 2% 3% 23 10 What stimulates you to work better? 500 respondents Variant of answer Objective management’s critics Management’s gratitude Process of self-improvement N/a All respondents 8% 46% 38% 8% Sex Men 9% 39% 42% 10% Women 7% 54% 32% 7% Age, years Less 24-29 than 23 9% 11% 50% 46% 32% 35% 9% 8% 11 What is the first that you can sacrifice to your career? 1800 respondents Variant of answer Family Children Private life (hobby, rest) Money Good working conditions Moral principles Nothing Other All respondents 1% 1% 46% 19% 7% 2% 22% 2% Sex Men 1% 1% 46% 17% 8% 2% 21% 4% Women 1% 1% 45% 22% 5% 1% 23% 2% Age, years Less 20-29 than 19 3% 1% 1% 1% 48% 44% 14% 22% 3% 5% 3% 2% 25% 22% 3% 3% 12 Did you ever have to go for a job while being ill? 1800 respondents Variant of answer Yes No 13 Why did you go for a job while being sick? 800 respondents Variant of answer I couldn’t delegate my job to other employees Didn’t want/couldn’t get sick-list Management forced Didn’t want to lose money Other N/a All respondents 47% 10% 8% 25% 7% 3% Sex Men 47% 10% 6% 25% 8% 4% Age, years Less Women 24-29 than 23 47% 10% 11% 24% 6% 2% 37% 14% 9% 34% 4% 2% 43% 12% 9% 27% 7% 2% All respondents Age, years Less Men Women 24-29 than 23 94% 95% 94% 91% 94% 6% 5% 6% 9% 6% Sex 24 14 Do you consider workaholism as a disease? 3000 respondents Variant of answer Definitely no Mostly no Mostly yes Definitely yes N/a All respondents 19% 32% 32% 11% 6% Sex Men 21% 32% 29% 11% 7% Women 17% 31% 36% 10% 6% Age, years Less 20-29 than 19 11% 16% 44% 32% 26% 33% 12% 10% 7% 9% 15 Do you consider yourself as workaholic? 1800 respondents Variant of answer Definitely yes Mostly yes Mostly no Definitely no All respondents 16% 50% 24% 10% Sex Men 15% 46% 28% 11% Women 17% 53% 21% 9% Age, years Less 24-29 than 23 14% 17% 48% 48% 26% 25% 12% 10% 16 How much time usually passes between your arrival at job and actual start of work? 000 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 24-29 than 23 Less than 5 minutes 28% 30% 25% 23% 24% 5-10 minutes 41% 39% 43% 40% 40% 10-30 minutes 21% 20% 23% 25% 24% 30 minutes – 1 hour 6% 6% 5% 7% 7% More than 1 hour 1% 1% 2% 2% 2% I work at home 1% 1% 1% 0% 1% N/a 2% 3% 1% 3% 2% 25 On average, how much time during working day do you spend on your personal 17 business? 1800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 25-34 than 24 Less than 10 min 8% 7% 9% 6% 8% 10-20 min 27% 24% 30% 25% 27% 30 min – 1 hour 29% 30% 27% 19% 26% 1-2hours 10% 11% 10% 31% 13% More than 2 hours 10% 11% 10% 6% 12% Other 5% 5% 5% 6% 3% N/a 11% 12% 9% 13% 11% 8 What is your attitude to working overtime? 2200 respondents Variant of answer Sometimes it is possible, but it is better not to do it on regular basis Job should be done during working day and left in time Work is very important part of life: you should stay longer or/and work at home All respondents 63% 31% 6% Sex Men 64% 27% 9% Age, years Less Women 24-29 than 23 63% 33% 4% 61% 32% 7% 66% 29% 5% 19 How your company’s management treats employees’ initiative? 1800 respondents Positively 38% Indifferent 31% Negatively 13% N/a 18% 20 What is collective attitude to employee’s initiative? 1800 respondents Positively 35% Indifferent 36% Negatively 13% N/a 16% 26 1 How do you attitude to employee’s initiative? 1800 respondents Positively 71% Indifferent 20% Negatively 3% N/a 6% 22 What relationship should be between manager and employee? 3000 respondents Only business 35% Mostly business 50% Mostly friendship 14% Only friendship 1% 23 How do you feel about your direct manager 2300 respondents Variant of answer Love Sympathy Hate Respect Indifference Other All respondents 1% 13% 4% 40% 31% 11% Sex Men 1% 10% 4% 42% 35% 8% Women 2% 15% 4% 39% 27% 13% Age, years Less 24-29 than 23 2% 1% 14% 13% 7% 4% 37% 40% 31% 32% 9% 10% 24 Do you believe it is comfortable for work with manager who is younger then you? 800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 24-29 than 23 Yes 32% 33% 31% 31% 28% No 40% 38% 42% 43% 41% N/a 28% 29% 27% 26% 31% 25 Would you prefer your manager to be… 5000 respondents Variant of answer Man Woman Indifferent All respondents 43% 10% 47% Sex Men 35% 13% 52% Women 49% 8% 43% Age, years Less 20-29 than 19 40% 42% 16% 12% 44% 46% 27 26 Do you think manager’s physical presence in the office increases productivity of employees? 1800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 24-29 than 23 Increases 47% 45% 48% 52% 49% Decreases 22% 21% 23% 28% 21% Has no influence 24% 25% 22% 16% 21% N/a 7% 9% 7% 4% 9% 27 Would you like to be a director/manager of the company where you work now? 5000 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 26-34 than 25 Yes 36% 45% 26% 37% 38% No 50% 41% 60% 48% 48% N/a 14% 14% 14% 15% 14% 28 How do you usually deal with conflicts with your colleagues? 1800 espondents Sex Age, years Education All Less Variant of answer responSpeci Men Women than 25-24 High dents alised 25 Complain to manager 2% 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% Complain to outside 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% services Get collective to take part in 5% 4% 5% 6% 4% 4% 8% conflict Deal on my own 86% 87% 85% 84% 86% 87% 84% Don’t deal at all 3% 3% 3% 3% 4% 4% 2% N/a 4% 5% 5% 5% 4% 3% 4% 29 Are you stressed often? 3000 respondents Variant of answer Yes, often No, not often Don’t know what is stress at all N/a All respondents 37% 50% 7% 6% Sex Men 30% 54% 9% 7% Women 43% 48% 4% 5% Age, years Less 20-29 than 19 30% 35% 54% 51% 8% 8% 8% 6% 28 30 How do you deal with stress? 3000 respondents Antidepressants Sports Arts Alcohol Hiking Socialising with pets Amusement events Computer games, Internet Meditation Shopping Doing housekeeping Playing intellectual games Socialising with friends and relatives Other N/a 8% 25% 13% 18% 30% 18% 12% 22% 11% 20% 15% 4% 43% 8% 4% 31 Would you take part in professional competition? 800 respondents Sex Age, years Education All Variant of answer responLess Speci Men Women 24-29 High dents than 23 alised Yes, if company will 45% 48% 43% 41% 45% 47% 40% stimulate the interest Yes, I’m ready to work for 30% 27% 32% 38% 32% 29% 29% idea Not, won’t take part in any 25% 25% 25% 21% 23% 24% 31% conditions 32 Do you do anything to increase your competitive advantages? 3000 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 20-29 than 19 No 42% 37% 47% 45% 42% No, I’m already a leader 16% 17% 15% 19% 16% Yes 42% 46% 38% 36% 42% 29 33 Due to your feelings, what is more important for you: overall success of you working collective or your own success? 1800 respondents Variant of answer Collective success Personal success N/a All respondents 45% 38% 17% Sex Men 49% 36% 15% Women 43% 39% 18% Age, years Less 25-34 than 24 39% 43% 42% 41% 19% 16% 34 How much money you need to earn monthly to be happy? 500 respondents Variant of answer Less than $ 1000 $1000 – $1600 $1650 – $3300 $3350 – $5000 $5550 – $6600 $6650 – $10000 $10050 – $13300 $13350 – $16600 More then 16700 N/a All respondents 4% 12% 25% 16% 10% 6% 4% 4% 12% 7% Sex Men 3% 9% 23% 17% 11% 6% 4% 4% 16% 7% Women 6% 15% 25% 15% 9% 6% 4% 4% 9% 7% Age, years Less 24-29 than 23 7% 4% 16% 12% 25% 26% 13% 16% 9% 9% 4% 7% 3% 4% 3% 4% 13% 11% 7% 7% 35 If you find out that your college on the same position gets higher salary then you, you would: 1800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 20-29 than 19 Be stimulated to work better 32% 35% 28% 36% 33% Lose desire to work better and do 24% 22% 27% 24% 27% anything at all Find out the reasons/other 26% 24% 28% 16% 23% N/a 18% 19% 17% 24% 17% 30 36 Do you believe that unpleasant work collective climate may lead to quitting job? 800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 20-29 than 19 Yes 91% 90% 92% 89% 91% No 4% 5% 3% 5% 4% N/a 5% 5% 5% 6% 5% 37 How often do you think about quitting job without actual doing it? 1800 respondents Sex Age, years All Variant of answer Less respondents Men Women 24-29 than 23 Few times a day 11% 10% 13% 14% 11% Once a day 10% 9% 11% 12% 11% Once a week 20% 19% 21% 20% 21% Once a month 14% 13% 14% 15% 14% Once in 6 month 10% 11% 10% 7% 12% Once a year 5% 4% 5% 4% 4% Don’t think at all 16% 19% 13% 18% 14% N/a 14% 15% 13% 10% 13% 38 What is the main reason for you to start looking for another job? 8000 respondents Variant of answer Sex Age, years All Less respondents Men Women 0-29 than 19 Aspiration for salary increase 45% 48% 42% 46% 44% Desire to work in peace without 8% 8% 8% 7% 7% troubles and stresses Desire to show creativity at work 4% 5% 4% 4% 4% Aspiration for higher independence 3% 3% 3% 5% 3% Aspiration to show myself worth 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% Desire to find a job related to my 3% 2% 4% 8% 5% degree Desire to change professional field 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% Aspiration for better working 3% 2% 3% 2% 3% conditions Aspiration for higher job satisfaction 15% 15% 15% 8% 13% and feeling of social significance Need for promotion 6% 6% 7% 7% 8% Desire to get better social securities 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% Desire to work in big famous 4% 3% 4% 2% 4% company 31 Desire to have more time for my family/private life Other 2% 3% 1% 3% 2% 3% 3% 3% 1% 3% 39 When quitting your last job, you informed your employer… 1800 respondents Variant of answer In advance Just on the day of quitting All respondents Age, years Less Men Women 24-29 than 23 65% 65% 64% 68% 60% 35% 35% 36% 32% 40% Sex 40 How long are you going to work? 3 000 respondents Variant of answer Till retirement age Till the end of life, because to work means to live N/a All respondents Age, years Less Men Women 20-29 than 19 36% 35% 38% 37% 37% 49% 15% 53% 12% 45% 17% 43% 20% 46% 17% Sex