Ethno-religious groups work values and ethics: the case of Jews, Muslims and Christians in Israel

ABSTRACT

This study examines and compares, for the first time, the MOW (Meaning of Work) among Jews and Arabs (Muslims and Christians) in Israel and attempts to explain the similarities and the differences in work ethics among these ethno-religious groups. The MOW questionnaire was conducted on 898 Jewish, 215 Muslim and 103 Christian respondents who were currently working. The MOW dimensions were: economic orientation, entitlement norms, obligation norms, interpersonal relations orientation, intrinsic orientation and work centrality. The findings reveal significant differences in most of the MOW dimensions between the three religious groups. Overall, demographic factors partially explain the MOW differences. The MOW differences among the three groups can be explained mainly by cultural differences. Since there is mass Arab (Muslims and Christians) immigration from the Middle East to Europe this study provides a better understanding of their perceptions about work and their work values and ethics. The applications of the findings for organizations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Meaning of work
• work ethics
• Jews
• Muslim Arabs
• Christian Arabs

Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Professor Itzhak Harpaz for his ideas and his support that contributed to the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Moshe Sharabi earned his Ph.D. at the University of Haifa; he is an Assistant professor at the Yezreel Valley Academic College the former head of the Sociology and Anthropology Department. He is also a researcher at the Center for the Study of Organizations and Human Resource Management in the University of Haifa. His current research interests include human resource management, organizational leadership and cross-cultural comparative research on work values. His studies have been published in various international journals including International Labour Review, International Journal of Psychology, Cross Cultural Management, Employee Relations, and Sociological Perspectives.

ORCID

Moshe Sharabi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8570-8769