Help Employees Open Up About What They Value To Strengthen Employee Work Attitudes

Today’s best managers know that positive employee attitudes can be strengthened. Help employees uncover what values are important and not important to them, such as trust, loyalty, friendliness, reverence, etc. Then, have employees consider their important values and help them tie those values into their work attitudes. For example, if an employee values working for a successful company, then tie that value into completing a difficult work assignment. Employee attitudes that are aligned with employee values will be stronger and more resistant to change.

Source: Blankenship, K. L., & Wegener, D. T. 2008. Opening the mind to close it: Considering a message in light of important values increases message processing and later resistance to change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 196-213.