<p>Long-term care facilities are facing increasing pressure at personnel, structural, and ethical levels. These developments are closely linked to questions of values and organisational culture. This article brings together current research, an ethical perspective, and the experiences of staff. It shows how tensions between professional ethical standards and everyday working conditions emerge and shape daily practice. Drawing on a participatory project, it illustrates how values can be translated into concrete organisational practice. One point becomes clear: values remain ineffective if they are formulated in the abstract — they only gain relevance when they are lived in everyday work.</p>