Intrinsic work values among higher education graduates

The professional integration of higher education graduates is a relatively recent area of research. The various studies carried out have discussed issues of an objective nature or the subjective dimensions of integration. Our research was part of a broader investigation, "Graduate integration paths: objective and subjective relationships with work", which focused on graduates from the University of Lisbon and the New University of Lisbon. We focused on the work values that these graduates seek to achieve (in and through work), helping to deepen our knowledge of this subject. If we consider that studies focusing solely and exclusively on universes made up of graduates have not been abundant, this analysis takes on greater importance. We combined two distinct but complementary methodologies, seeking to explore the content given by individuals to intrinsic values, since knowledge of the meaning attributed to them has been little explored in sociological analysis, not doing justice to its apparent relevance in understanding the subjective relationships that individuals establish with work.