Work and career

Work values test: name the six trade-offs that matter most

Explore what matters at work: achievement, independence, recognition, relationships, support and conditions.

  • 24 questions
  • 8 min
  • Free, no sign-up
  • Your pattern profile

Results on screen · no email

About this test

This test reports six work preferences: achievement, independence, recognition, relationships, support and working conditions. Twenty-four statements present trade-offs between them; each preference appears on its own card.

What this test looks at

  • A result you can point to · 4 statements
  • Room to choose your own method · 4 statements
  • Being named and trusted with it · 4 statements
  • How people treat each other · 4 statements
  • Practical backing · 4 statements
  • Hours, load and predictability · 4 statements
Time
8 minutes
Questions
24
Result
a score for each pattern
Time frame
Answer for your working life over the past year or so.

Your answers are kept in this browser for 48 hours so you can continue where you left off; start over to erase them. If you sign in, you can save your result (not your answers). Privacy details.

Use the result

What this test adds

The six cards help you compare work preferences against a real vacancy, such as recognition versus predictable hours or independence versus support.

A small next step

Take one real job you could apply for this month and write, under each of the six headings, the single piece of evidence the advert or the interview actually gives you. Where a heading is blank, that is your question for the person who would manage you, and it is a better question than asking whether the culture is good.

Questions people ask

What are work values, in plain terms?

They are the things you want a job to provide: a visible result, room to choose your method, credit, decent relationships, backing from a manager, or predictable hours. This test treats them as six separate cards rather than one ranking.

Will this work values test tell me what job to take?

No. It reports what you said mattered and gives you six headings to test a real offer against. Pay, location, timing, health and the people involved all sit outside anything a questionnaire can see.

What if several of the six come out prominent?

That is common and it is useful information: it means the trade-off has not been forced yet. Pick the two highest cards and ask which one you would give up first if a real job made you choose.

How long does it take, and do I need an account?

Twenty-four questions, about eight minutes, free, with no email and no account needed. Your answers and your result are worked out in this browser tab and are not sent anywhere.

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