Volume 25 Number 3
May 1986

G. Williamson McDiarmid and Juidth S. Kleinfeld

THIS STUDY COMPARES THE OCCUPATIONAL VALUES OF rural Eskimo secondary students with those of urban white adolescents. Contrary to popular stereotypes, rural Eskimo adolescents prefer conventional year-round jobs to intermittent work just as urban white adolescents do. Significant cultural differences do appear, however, in the extent to which each group seeks intrinsic satisfactions from wage work. In their overall work values, however, Eskimo adolescents closely resemble their white counterparts.

Many Alaska Natives—especially men—follow patterns of intermittent wage work rather than year-round, full-time employment. Does this work schedule represent a preference for intermittent work or is it a pragmatic response to the limited number of year-round jobs in most rural villages? Do Eskimo and Indian adolescents growing up in communities with few jobs available develop a different approach to wage work and its rewards than do northern adolescents growing up in communities where most people work conventionally year-round? These questions concern rural teachers who must consider for which adult work activities they are educating village youth.

Teachers want to know whether their students prefer the types of jobs typically available in the village or if they would be interested in other kinds of occupational opportunities if they had the appropriate skills. Since most rural educators are white, they frequently ask these questions in a comparative manner: Are northern Native students different from northern white students in their work preferences?

The limited research we have been able to locate on cultural differences in work values indicates that the rewards people seek from work are, indeed, influenced by their cultural background (Hofstede, 1980; Lafitte, 1974). On the question of whether northern Native groups have a culturally different approach to wage work, little evidence is available.

Some research has been done on preferences for conventional versus intermittent work schedules. On this dimension of work preferences, the evidence is conflicting. Smith (1974) found that Indian and Eskimos in Canada’s Northwest Territories prefer conventional 40-hour work schedules.

His survey responses do not support popular local stereotypes. In a survey of Yukon Indian men, Lampe (1974) also found that they prefer year-round work.

On the other hand, Alaska’s North Slope Inupiat adults and adolescents prefer part-time intermittent work as often as they prefer year-round employment (Kleinfeld and Kruse 1977; Kleinfeld, Kruse, and Travis 1980). The preference of about half the population for part-time work, however, may reflect the unusual economic situation on the North Slope during the time of this research. The North Slope Borough, an Inupiat government, used taxes from Prudhoe Bay oil company property to create large numbers of highly paid jobs for local Inupiat. Many of these jobs are in the construction sector which typically offers intermittent but high-paying work in the north. In expressing their preference for intermittent work, Inupiat adults and adolescents may simply be expressing their preference for the kind of well-paid work available locally.

In short, whether northern Natives actually prefer the intermittent work patterns common in rural areas is not entirely clear from the existing research literature. We have not found research exploring other dimensions of work values among northern Native groups.

The rural Eskimo sample consisted of 232 high school students—the entire high school population from four small Eskimo villages on the lower Yukon. The four high schools from which our rural samples were drawn were sites for a National Science Foundation project examining the educational effects of visiting university scientists who taught in the schools. The data reported here, however, are baseline measures and do not reflect effects of this program.

While rural Eskimo students in these four high schools are not representative of all rural Eskimo students, the sites do represent common situations in rural Alaska. All students came from villages which depend on a combination of subsistence hunting and fishing, wage work, and public assistance. Many jobs in the area are short-term and intermittent. Most villagers are poor with an average per capita cash income of $2750 in 1979.

To obtain a comparison group of northern non-Native students, we drew a random sample of students from a high school in Fairbanks, Alaska, the northernmost urban center in Alaska. We chose the Fairbanks high school whose students represented the widest socioeconomic spectrum in the community. To limit the potential effects of wide cultural variation in the urban sample, we included only Caucasian students in the analyses. The final urban sample consisted of 117 Caucasion (or white) students.

Fairbanks is the commercial and transportation center of interior Alaska with a population of over 50,000 residents. Most jobs follow conventional year-round work schedules. Intermittent construction work, however, is a major source of employment and represents nine 9 percent of local jobs.

We used two measures to examine rural Eskimo and urban white students’ occupational values.

The first questionnaire presented students with scenario items that offered them a choice between alternative job situations. The scenario followed the form of a conversation between students talking about the kind of job that they wanted as an adult. The alternatives were carefully written so as to make each value preference equal in social desirability. The authors pretested the scenarios with both experts and representatives of the study populations to ensure items were not biased in favor of one of the choices.

Each scenario item also contained an explicit discussion of the tradeoffs implicit in the choices. Surveys were the same for males and females except that male names were used in the male version and female names in the female version.

The following item, for example, is intended to measure preferences for year-round work versus intermittent work, discussing the trade-off between higher pay and more free time.

We chose this scenario format for several reasons. First, this format avoids biasing the results because of a "positive response set" that is more pronounced in one cultural group than in another. In a pre-test for this study, we asked Eskimo and white students to rate the importance of occupational values stated simply as "pays good wages" or "interesting to do." We found that the Eskimo group tended to rate every value more positively than white students. This phenomenon-response toward the extremes-has been noted in other research on Native American groups (Lewis and Gingerich, 1980).

In addition, the trade-off questions more closely approximate the kinds of value conflicts individuals face when thinking about alternative job choices. Interviews with students after they completed the questionnaire revealed that they found the situations interesting and easy to understand.

The questions asked students to choose between the following values:

In addition to these scenario measures, we also asked rural Eskimo and urban white students about their occupational preferences and their primary reasons for their preferences. Possible responses included such values as "provides free time," "opportunity to be helpful to others," "chance to travel," and so on.

In analyzing the scenario items, we adopted the distinction that prevails in the research literature between intrinsic values—rewards contained within the work such as the chance to use one’s skills—and extrinsic values—rewards outside the job itself such as high pay. (For a review of the literature which employs these dimensions, see Andrisani and Miljus, 1977; and Alvi, 1981). Because of the importance of the intermittent versus conventional work-pattern issue in northern Eskimo and Indian communities, we have considered work scheduling to be an additional dimension of work values.

Each item was analyzed for ethnic group differences, sex differences, and ethnic group by sex interactions. Additional statistical analyses, the full text of the survey items, and related work value items not reported here for reasons of space may be found in McDiarmid and Kleinfeld (1982).

Conventional wisdom holds that rural Eskimos prefer part-year jobs that leave them free to engage in subsistence hunting and fishing and other activities. Contrary to this stereotype, nearly 70 percent of our rural Eskimo sample prefer year-round occupations to part-time jobs. We found no significant cultural differences in preferences for year-round versus part-time work.

Similarly, we found no significant cultural differences in preferences for a non-conventional work week. About 70 percent of each group prefer a standard 40-hour work week.

Another widely held belief is that Eskimo males prefer to work outdoors. Results from this scenario item support this idea. Urban white males in this study, however, also prefer outdoor work. The only significant cultural difference on this item occurred in the working condition preferences of Eskimo and white females. Significantly more urban white females than rural Eskimo females prefer outdoor work.

TABLE 1
Work Values in Rural Eskimo vs. Urban White Adolescents

Rural Eskimo students of both genders preferred to work in their hometown, even if it meant a lower-paying job. Given the close family and social ties characteristic of village life we expected this result. We did not expect, however, that our white sample would show a similar preference for a lower-paying job at home. Significant cultural differences do not appear. Extrinsic Values: A majority of both rural Eskimo and urban white students prefer a lower-paying job that offers career advancement over a higher-paying job without advancement potential. This preference, however, was significantly stronger among both white males and females than among Eskimo males and females.

We also found significant cultural differences in the importance placed on doing work that helps the community, even if this work is lower paid. Eighty percent of white males prefer a higher paying job without a community service orientation whereas Eskimo males were split between the two options. Eskimo and white females do not show much difference in their community service orientation. On another item (not reported in Table 1) that presented three value-orientations—high occupational status, good income, and the satisfaction of helping the community—Eskimo females were significantly more likely than their urban counterparts to choose the job that offered the satisfaction of helping the community. These results generally support the prevalent notion of greater community-service values among northern Eskimo groups.

Both Eskimo and white students strongly prefer a steady job with a lower but secure income over a temporary job with a high income. These results again suggest that the temporary job patterns common in rural, Native communities reflect not a preference but a response to available job opportunities.

Intrinsic Values: Significant cultural differences occurred on all three scenario items concerned with intrinsic work values. A majority of both Eskimo and white students prefer a more autonomous job, where a person has to solve unfamiliar problems, over a more closely supervised job. Significantly more white males, however, value work autonomy. A slight majority of urban white students prefer a challenging job even if it demands effort beyond normal working hours. A small majority of rural Eskimo students, on the other hand, prefer a more routine job that does not necessitate after-hours work.

A small majority of urban white students value a job with leadership responsibilities even though the person has to accept both credit and blame for a large enterprise. A small majority of rural Eskimo students, in contrast, prefer a job without leadership duties.

In addition to the scenario items, we also asked students what kinds of jobs they would be interested in as adults and their primary reason for their preferences.

Among rural Eskimo students, job preferences differ significantly by gender. Females cited the "opportunity to be helpful to others" most often as the reason for their job choice, while males most frequently indicated "provides free time." For Eskimo females, the second and third most frequently cited reasons for job choice were "chance to travel" and "chance to use my talents." Eskimo males selected "chance to use my talents" and "opportunity to be helpful to others" as their second and third reasons.

Urban white students of both sexes agreed on the three primary reasons for choosing the jobs they wanted: (1) "interesting to do," (2) "pays good wages," and (3) "chance to use my talents." The order of importance was, however, slightly different for males and females. Males most frequently chose "Pays good wages" followed by "interesting to do" while women most often cited "interesting to do" followed by "chance to use my talents."

While we found significant cultural differences in occupational values between rural Eskimo and urban Caucasian adolescents, these differences were typically not great. Nor did the cultural differences we found conform to the popular stereotype of rural Natives who prefer intermittent work to year-round jobs.

Both rural Eskimo and urban white students prefer a year-round, forty-hour work schedule. Our findings are consistent with Smith (1974) and Lampe (1974) on this point. Taken together, these studies support the view that the temporary work patterns among many northern Natives are a pragmatic response to job opportunities, not an expression of a preference for intermittent work.

Nonetheless, we did find that Eskimo males most frequently indicated "leaves me a lot of free time" as the primary reason for choosing the job to which they aspire. This response may indicate not so much that Eskimo adolescents prefer unconventional work schedules as that they tend to look less to wage work for intrinsic satisfactions, a matter to which we will return below.

Both rural Eskimo and urban white adolescents value many other aspects of a job over high pay. Both groups prefer a lower-paying job if it means they can live in their hometown. Both groups prefer job security over higher income. Both groups prefer a lower paying job if it offers a greater chance of advancement.

While both groups value other dimensions of a job over high pay, significant cultural differences do occur in which particular dimension students value. White adolescents are more likely to prefer a lower paying job if it offers job advancement. Eskimo males, on the other hand, are more likely to prefer a lower paying job that has a community service orientation.

Certain intrinsic values—autonomy, leadership, responsibility, and challenge—are significantly less important for rural Eskimo students than for urban white students. These differences are, however, quite small.

Urban white and rural Eskimo students differ in their experience with various occupations—a fact critical to interpreting these findings. Few parents or relatives of rural Eskimo students hold the professional or highly skilled wage jobs that offer substantial intrinsic satisfaction. Rural Eskimo students might well seek greater intrinsic satisfaction from work if they were more familiar with occupational areas which offer such rewards. This was perhaps best illustrated by the response of one rural parent when asked why so few rural students were interested in health professions: "They don’t know anyone who has done this. There aren’t any doctors or dentists out here. They can’t imagine themselves doing it."

In summation, Eskimo adolescents resemble their white counterparts more often than not in their work values. Differences do appear in some areas. A fundamental difference may exist in the way each cultural group views the arena of wage work itself and the satisfactions that such work has to offer. Educational programs which provide direct experience in a range of different jobs and which also provide the opportunity for reflection and discussion on the satisfactions and limitations of different kinds of jobs may have particular benefit for rural adolescents.

Alvi, S. A. "Work Values and Attitudes: A Review of Recent Research and Its Implications." Interchange 11 (1980-81): 67-79.

Adrisani, P. J., and Miljus, R. C. "Individual Differences in Preferences for Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Aspects of work." Journal of Vocational Behavior 11 (1977): 14-30.

Hofstede, G. Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1980.

Kleinfeld, J. and Kruse, J. A. "High School: Views of North Slope Borough Students." Mimeographed. Fairbanks, AK: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska, February 1977.

Kuvlesky, W. P., and Edington, E. D. "Ethnic Group Identity and Occupational Status Projections of Teenage Boys and Girls: Mexican American, Black, Native American, and Anglo Youth." Paper presented at the Southwest Sociological Association annual meeting, Dallas, Texas, April 1976.

Lafitte, P. C. "Work Values of University Students: An Analysis by Ethnic Groups and Sex." Master’s Thesis, University of Texas at Austin, June 1974.

Lampe, W. J. P. Native People’s Perceptions of Factors Associated with Job Acceptance and Retention. Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; Northern Affairs Branch, 1974.

Lewis, R. G., and Gingerich, W. "Leadership Characteristics: Views of Indian and Non-Indian Students." Social Casework 61 (1980): 494-497.

McDiarmid, G. W. and Kleinfeld, J. ". . . Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief": The Educational and Occupational -Aspirations, Plans and Preferences of Eskimo Students on the Lower Yukon", 1982. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, November 1982.

Smith, D. G. Occupational Preferences of Northern Students. Social Science Notes - 5. Ottawa: Department of Indian and Northern Affairs; Northern Economic Development Branch, 1974.

G. Williamson McDiarmid is Assistant Professor of Education and Judith S. Kleinfeld is Professor of Psychology at the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska.