The Role of Social Preferences for Life Goals and Career Choices

Julien Senn (), Thomas Epper () and Ernst Fehr ()
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Julien Senn: University of Zurich
Thomas Epper: CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research)
Ernst Fehr: University of Zurich

No 19037, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: Workers care not only about pay and career opportunities but also about meaningful work and socially responsible employers. This heterogeneity matters for worker-firm matching, recruitment, and compensation, yet its preference-based origins remain poorly understood. Using a two-wave study representative of the Swiss population (N=1,031), we study whether social preferences account for life goals, job preferences, and occupational sorting. We structurally estimate two facets of social preferences: altruism in the advantageous and disadvantageous domains. These dimensions are negatively correlated; failing to account for both substantially underestimates the effects of social preferences. Social preferences predict life goals, preferred job attributes, and willingness to work in the tobacco industry. Higher altruism is associated with a lower emphasis on wealth, career status, and pay, but a greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility and meaningful work. Lastly, altruism when ahead positively associates with employment in education, health, and social services. Our paper highlights the importance of social preferences for worker motivation and labor-market sorting.

Keywords: social preferences; meaning-at-work; career choices; sorting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D91 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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