How to Incorporate Your Values in Your Career

A career is more than a job title, a salary or a list of responsibilities. For many of us, our working lives take up a significant part of our time, so it is natural to want our work to reflect what matters to us.

Whether your values centre around sustainability, social impact, equality, creativity, learning, community or making a positive difference, finding ways to bring those values into your career can make work feel more meaningful and purposeful.

At Change Agents UK, we believe that people can be powerful drivers of positive change. That change can happen through the career choices we make, the organisations we choose to work for and the contribution we make within our roles.

What are career values?

Your values are the principles and beliefs that influence what matters to you and how you make decisions. They can help you understand what you want from your career beyond practical considerations such as salary, location or progression.

Your values might include:

• Sustainability and environmental responsibility

• Social justice and equality

• Making a positive difference to your community

• Learning and personal development

• Creativity and innovation

• Collaboration and connection

• Flexibility and work-life balance

• Security and stability

• Inclusion and diversity

  
  

There is no right or wrong set of career values. What matters is understanding your own priorities and considering how they can be reflected in your working life.

Start by identifying what matters to you

Before thinking about changing careers, take some time to consider what you genuinely value.

Think about moments when you have felt particularly motivated, proud or fulfilled in your work or education.

What were you doing? Who were you working with? What difference did it make?

You can also think about the opposite. When have you felt frustrated, disengaged or uncomfortable at work? What was missing?

These questions can help you identify the principles that are important to you. It can also be useful to separate your own values from the expectations of others. We can sometimes pursue a particular career because it is considered successful, secure or prestigious, without asking whether it is actually right for us.

Look at the values of the organisation you work for

Your own values are only one part of the picture. The organisation you work for can have a significant influence on whether you feel your career is aligned with what matters to you.

When considering a new employer, look beyond the job description. Ask questions about the organisation's culture, purpose and impact.

For example:

• What does the organisation stand for?

• How does it treat its employees?

• Does it take sustainability seriously?

• How does it contribute to its local community?

• What does it do to promote equality and inclusion?

• Does it invest in learning and development?

• Can employees contribute ideas and influence positive change?

  
  

This last point is particularly important as more organisations recognise the importance of environmental and social responsibility.

Green recruitment 

Recruitment can also play an important role here. Recruitment is not simply about filling vacancies; it is an opportunity to connect people with organisations that share their values and are committed to creating a more sustainable future.

For candidates, this means considering an employer’s environmental and social commitments alongside more traditional factors such as salary and progression. For employers, it means thinking carefully about how their values are communicated and how they attract people who genuinely want to contribute to their mission.

You don’t have to work in sustainability to make a difference

One common misconception is that having strong environmental values means you need to work directly in the sustainability sector. Of course, there are many exciting careers specifically focused on environmental issues, renewable energy, conservation and sustainability. But positive change can happen in almost every profession.

A teacher can incorporate sustainability into their learning environment. A designer can consider the environmental impact of materials. Someone working in finance can influence responsible investment. A recruiter can champion greener employment practices. A business professional can help an organisation reduce waste or improve its environmental performance.

Whatever your job title, there may be opportunities to bring your values into the way you work.

Think about the impact you want to have

Or ask yourself this useful question: What kind of impact do I want my career to have? Your answer doesn't need to be grand or revolutionary.

Perhaps you want to help people develop their skills. Perhaps you want to make your community stronger, protect the environment, create more inclusive workplaces or help organisations operate more responsibly.

Once you understand the impact you want to have, you can start looking for opportunities that move you in that direction. This could mean choosing a new employer, volunteering, developing a new skill, taking on a different project or simply changing the way you approach your existing role.

What if your current career doesn't align with your values?

Realising that your work doesn't reflect your values can be uncomfortable. It can also be the beginning of something positive. You don't necessarily need to leave your job immediately. Start by identifying where there is room to make changes.

Could you get involved in a sustainability project? Could you suggest a more environmentally responsible approach to a process? Could you mentor someone? Could you advocate for greater inclusion? Could you develop skills that would allow you to move into a more values-aligned role in the future?

However, sometimes the gap between your values and your working environment is too significant to ignore. If you repeatedly find yourself compromising on things that matter deeply to you, it may be worth considering whether a different organisation, role or career path would be a better fit.

Use your values when making career decisions

The next time you're considering a job, promotion, course or career change, try looking at the opportunity through the lens of your values.

Ask yourself:

·         Does this opportunity reflect what matters to me?

·         Will I have the opportunity to make a positive contribution?

·         Does the organisation's behaviour match its stated values?

·         Will I be able to continue learning and developing?

·         Does this role give me the opportunity to contribute to environmental/social change in a meaningful way?

And importantly:

How will I feel about the work I'm doing, not just the position I'm holding? These questions can help you make career decisions that feel more authentic.

Your career can be part of positive change

Incorporating your values into your career isn't about finding a perfect job or achieving complete alignment every day. Few careers work that way. Instead, it's about becoming more conscious of what matters to you and looking for ways to bring those principles into your working life.

For some people, that might mean moving into a sustainability-focused career. For others, it might mean working for an organisation with a strong social purpose, developing sustainable skills or finding ways to make their existing role more environmentally responsible.

Our careers give us an opportunity to contribute to the world around us. By understanding our values and making thoughtful choices about where and how we work, we can help create workplaces, organisations and communities that reflect the future we want to see.

At Change Agents UK, we believe that meaningful change starts with people. By connecting people with opportunities to learn, develop and contribute, we can help create careers that benefit individuals, organisations and the wider world.

Want to find out more about finding a values driven career? Get in touch for a free careers mentoring session.