The tourism and hospitality sector is burdened with a bad image and faces skill shortages in many positions. This impairs the attractiveness of pursuing a career in this industry. The interplay of employees’ values and their attraction towards jobs and organizations have been studied extensively. However, only a few studies have empirically substantiated the psychological structure of work values of hospitality employees. This study utilizes the French approach “Économie des conventions” the first time to examine which work values are being used by employees to define varying job aspects. Data for this study was obtained from employees currently working in the tourism and hospitality industry (N=105) including waiters, cooks, barkeepers and receptionists, using a choice-based conjoint questionnaire. Findings indicate that employees attribute different meaning to job aspects using diverse work values to define them. Moreover, findings suggest generational and sex differences, as well as differences between employees depending on their profession. Implications for hospitality managers are discussed in order to improve recruitment processes and foster the attraction of the industry.