Characteristic features of the life-meaning and value orientations of sales department employees during the transformation of professional activity

Abstract

The current threat of the COVID-19 pandemic has crucially changed the familiar life and caused the shift in all spheres including the professional one. Ambiguity of the nearest future and anxiety about oneself health have shifted the sphere of trade into online format. The purpose of the research was to study correlations between life-meaning and value orientations and professional motivation, and ambiguity tolerance of sales department employees. The theoretical grounds of the research are the concepts of meaning-value sphere and life-meaning orientations (Abakumova I.V., Baumeister R.F., Kruteleva L.J., Leontiev D.A., Rokeach M., Yanitskiy M.S., Seryy A.V., Schwartz S.H., etc.); professional motivation (Abakumova I.V., Barabanshchikova V.V., Ivanova S.A., Klimova O.A., etc.) and ambiguity tolerance (Asmolov A.G., Shekter E.D., Chernorizov A.M., etc.). The sample comprised 49 sales department employees aged 22 to 49 with the professional experience from 1 to 9 years. The empirical research includes the following techniques (adapted into Russian): Purpose-in-Life Test, Rokeach Value Survey, Career Anchors, Work Motivation Inventory, and Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale-I. The results indicate the life-meaning orientations and the general level of life meaningfulness do not correlate to ambiguity tolerance. Values of private life help to cope with the changing circumstances. The forced transformation of the professional activity frustrates respondents to achieve professional self-realization, facilitates the sales department employees to promote new products and services.