ABSTRACT
The concepts of work orientation and work attitudes refer to a subjective dimension of the relationship between a person and his/her job or employment in general. They grasp the person’s conceptions, knowledge, beliefs, feelings and evaluations concerning work or various aspects of it. In addition, we find a potential behavioural element to be taken into consideration. According to the conventional notion—agreed with here—attitudes have three different dimensions (e.g., Rosenberg and Hovland 1960; Eagly and Chaiken 1993). The first, the cognitive, aspect has to do with beliefs, that is, conceptions and understandings of the object in question. Second, there is an affective dimension referring to feelings about and evaluations of the object. Individuals’ disposition to act makes up the third, the behavioural, aspect of an attitude. It should be stressed that the three dimensions are interrelated. For example, an employer who is convinced that immigrants are just as competent as native workers and who is keen on the principle of equal opportunities can be expected at least not to discriminate against immigrants when recruiting people to vacancies. Nevertheless, it is not unusual to find a mismatch between the dimensions, which in the example given might imply that the employer acts contrary to his/her beliefs and values.
