The Value of Work in the Lives of University Students on the Threshold of Their Professional Careers

Professional work is an essential component of the human value system, serving not only as a source of income but also as a factor of personal development and self-fulfilment. The article presents a diagnosis of the value of work in the awareness of university students completing higher education and entering the labour market. The aim of the study was to determine the place of work in students’ value systems and to identify the personal and professional values associated with it. The main focus of the analysis was to establish the role and significance attributed to work in the lives of the surveyed students. Attention was given to issues such as the values considered by young people as symbols of happiness, the position of work within their hierarchy of values, and the extent to which socio-demographic factors differentiate their systems of values. The applied research method was a diagnostic survey carried out with the use of a questionnaire. The results indicate that students perceive work primarily as a factor ensuring life stability, personal development, and self-fulfilment. At the same time, differences in attitudes towards work, determined by socio-demographic conditions, were identified.