Has the work ethic changed?

[disneylizzy]

Can I just brag on DS20 a little? We are not rich by any stretch, so he spends his summers working to help with his tuition. Freshman year he worked for our town Dept. of Public Works 35 hours/week til about 3:30 pm, then 4 nights a week he would eat an early supper and pump gas til 10:00 pm and he also worked at least one weekend day (10 hours) pumping gas.

Last summer he got a job in his field, surveying, where they routinely worked late. He still spent one day a weekend pumping gas.

I think if you can instill a good work ethic in your child, so much else follows from that. A good work ethic means that you can put other's needs before your own wants. A good work ethic means responsibility, delayed gratification (how often do you see that!), and perseverance. You can't be a selfish person with a good work ethic.

Kids who have never had to wait for their latest "want" grow up not knowing or understanding that the world does not owe them a living.

 

[Kteacher]

I think WatchinCaptKangaroo is exactly right.I've noticed the work ethic has changed in both professions I work in- retail for almost 30 years, and education for 8 years. There is no longer a sense of loyalty between the employee and the employer. I work with many people who see sick days as additional personal days -the reason they give is that there is no " incentive " for the employee not to use all their sick time. Low wages and no benefits in retail do not produce loyal employees. It's a very unfortunate situation

 

[luvthatduke]

I think if you can instill a good work ethic in your child, so much else follows from that. A good work ethic means that you can put other's needs before your own wants. A good work ethic means responsibility, delayed gratification (how often do you see that!), and perseverance. You can't be a selfish person with a good work ethic.

Kids who have never had to wait for their latest "want" grow up not knowing or understanding that the world does not owe them a living.

disneylizzy, I totally agree with this statement, as well as most everything Barkley has said.
As others, I have first-hand experience as I was a retail manager
with 26 people working for me.

mickeygirl555, it was me who made the statement about who's
going to be leading our country, and I stand by it.
I'm not fatalistic, and I'm not putting you down or your entire generation.
But, when good people like you, and disneylizzy's son,
seem to be the exception - not the rule - that's what is disheartening.
I know many great 20somethings, but unfortunately I also see
many more in every store, every office, etc., that make me question
how they were raised (as disneylizzy pointed out),
and for that matter why they were even hired or not fired in the first week.
Several times in the past several years I've had simple conversations
with employers, some are friends of mine, others were just chatting
while shopping or visiting, and they just shake their heads.
They say they have to take what's out there, for the most part,
because if they fired or simply didn't hire most of their workers,
those same workers wouldn't care, and the next batch would be just as bad.

Again, rest assured I'm not trying to down an entire group of people,
but I don't see this as simply a case of 'every generation thinks this way.'
The attire, the talk, the "attitude" that DH, my friends, and I see
on a regular basis speaks volumes about how many of these young
people are employed but just don't seem to care.

I also want to say to you, and other young people reading here who
do understand the work ethic, please don't be discouraged
by my comments or others.
A question was asked and we are answering honestly,
based on our experiences.

 

[Free4Life11]

Has it changed? Well, I'm only 20 so I wouldn't now. But what I CAN tell you is that both strong work ethic AND common sense seem to be in VERY short supply today.

I work at a movie theatre and it's mostly young people. Honestly, some of these kids are just so DUMB it's laughable! I've never worked with people who are as slow and lazy as some of them.

This one kid who gets on my nerves is constantly saying there is nothing to do.....nothing to do? Let's see, you could wipe off counters, organize the shelves, sweep, mop, the list literally doesn't end. I don't understand how the backroom can be a complete mess and someone can say there is nothing to do. So many kids have to be constantly told exactly what to do or they'll do nothing.

Oh and today...LMAO...this kid and another were talking about what they want to do in the future. One wants to either be a dentist or a pediatric surgeon becase it pays well and "is easy." Ahh, ok, I didn't realize that pediatric surgery was EASY. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is the future of our county.

However, I also have to say that MANAGEMENT deserves a lot of the blame. I've worked for over a year without getting a raise. I've had it. In so many jobs, hard work is just NOT noticed or rewarded. You want people to work hard? Then REWARD those who work hard. DO NOT reward those who DON'T work hard. It's as if everything is backwards where I work.

 

[yeartolate]

I feel like an old fart by answering yes to the question.


With a few notable exceptions, many of the younger nurses I work with have absolutely no work ethic. Come in late. Demand holidays off "if you don't I will quit!". They call ancillary services who are already overburdoned to do things they have the time and ability to do. It seems like the more money nurses make the less they are willing to do. Luckily, I have been able to "mold" a few nurses "old school" style and they have excelled.

One nurse actually quit because we strictly prohibit artificial nails. How the heck (if you are doing your job) can you maintain artificial nails in critical care when you are washing your hands in battery acid 100 times a day?

And if one of the yungins whips out her cellphone to make a personal call at the nurses station one more time I am gonna give her cellphone number to the Army Recruiters.

I am just disgusted with my profession. We don't have an adequate smiley on this board to express my disgust.

 

[Planogirl]

You know, I wouldn't really know how I developed a good work ethic now that I think about it. I know that it's very important to me to get the job done and to get it done right regardless of how much it puts me out. It's also important that the customer's needs are met and that the company also gets what it needs. But truthfully, I don't know why I believe this so strongly. I'll have to think about this one.

As for the question about five things happening at once that are all your responsibility, is the answer to prioritize and delegate? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the question?

 

[barkley]

You know, I wouldn't really know how I developed a good work ethic now that I think about it. I know that it's very important to me to get the job done and to get it done right regardless of how much it puts me out. It's also important that the customer's needs are met and that the company also gets what it needs. But truthfully, I don't know why I believe this so strongly. I'll have to think about this one.

As for the question about five things happening at once that are all your responsibility, is the answer to prioritize and delegate? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the question?

prioritize what you can, delegate what you can (and it was always a better answer if we could hear their "thinking" on it-like "I would ask the unit clerk to let the person waiting know i have to answer a call but i will be out to see them unless they want to schedual a set time to come back, i would tell the person on hold that i have to see my supervisor and i will ask when would be a good time to call them back...". but the right answer for number 1 on the list was always "see my supervisor" (cuz he/she may have something to tell me that could impact all of my interactions for the remainder of the day)

 

[TLinden16]

Oh, don't get me started on this one. We have a group of younger folks at my office who slack off so much! The show up 15-30 minutes late for every day (if you are consistently late, you aren't leaving for work early enough). They leave at 5:00 on the nose (despite the late arrival). They often take extra long lunches. They take five or six smoke breaks a day (including some of the non-smokers). They spend more time yapping than socializing. I could go on and on.

 

[bicker]

The work ethic changes continually over time. It has nothing to do with generations or specific people. It just constantly moves. Our work ethic was nothing like our parent's, and their work ethic was nothing like their parent's either. (I wasn't around that long ago, but FWIR, the work ethic didn't change as much over time back then as it does not -- so what that probably translates to is that the work ethic is changing faster, over time, than before.)

In many ways, I believe both society and industry affect the change in work ethic.

For example, compared to when I was growing up, there is no longer any such thing as "job security" so much of the work ethic is affected by people taking measures to reclaim some measure of security, either by working harder, working longer, CYA, resume-lining, spending more work-time on networking, etc., or some combination of these things. By the same token, except for the last five years, we've lived in a time of ever-increasing opportunities for workers, so the work ethic reflected that, with folks less concerned about the sanctions of an employer.

 

[Marseeya]

I hate to admit, but I didn't have a very good work ethic in my 20s. I don't know why I didn't. Both of my parents had strong work ethics, as did my grandparents before them, and great grandparents before them, and so on. After I graduated from high school, I just got my priorities screwed up and wanted to party and have fun. Then when I had my first child, I settled down, but HE became my priority over my job. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job and did the best I could at that point, but it just wasn't my priority.

I'm different now in my 30s. Although I haven't held a job since DD was born, I know when I do restart my career, my work ethic is going to be entirely different.

 

[bicker]

Either they are total over achievers working hard and striving to do well.......or they tend to be slackers and just doing what needs to be done to get by. Its pathetic.

Is it? Or is it simply a reflection of people having or not having paths for advancement. This is something I don't believe has changed much over the years. It seems it, to a casual observer though, because as you get older, you perhaps end up in positions of higher responsibility, in which case you've found the path, and therefore always felt that there was a path. However, people are different. They have different capabilities and different opportunities available to them. I remember when I first started working. We were at Bell Laboratories, one of the most prestigious research institution in the world at the time. You'd figure that everyone was highly motivated and driven. Nope. While the vast majority were, there were a few people there who were there for the paycheck.

 

[mickman1962]

Almost all of the younger people I work with (under 25) feel they deserve to be given a good wage/holiday time off/the easy jobs. The other people I work with feel we have to earn it. That is the big difference. We have not hired a person under the age of 25 in the last 5 years who had any work ethic.

 

[delilah]

Generally, I feel the less experienced workers want the same perks and benefits the more experienced ones do. My situation, for example. I am a family physician, and have worked in this practice for 15 years. When I joined the practice, I had to work all the "family" holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, and I let the more seasoned doctors have the holidays off with their families. I expected that for a time, I would tolerate this, knowing that at some time, I would be the most tenured physician. My first year, I had Christmas and July 4. Second year, I had Thanksgiving and another holiday I've forgotten (in my opinion, Memorial day, New Years day, and Labor day are non-holidays). Now I am the most senior physician, and what holiday did I last work--Christmas! I don't mind being on any particular holiday once every six years, because there are 6 doctors and we keep track of 6 holidays. The last time I was on call on Labor day was when my son, now 8, was an infant 6 mos old. I requested Labor day, giving this information to the person who does the schedule. Guess what holiday I get in 2006--Christmas! Guess who got New Years day--the premier cakewalk holiday--the doctor who has been here 2.5 years, the most junior member of the practice. I couldn't get Labor day, because another junior member wanted it. Amazing (and sick).

 

[Crankyshank]

I don't know about other career paths, but in my experience in various positions and with various companies as well as my DH's in the tech sector those who were dilligent, hard working, and responsible seldom got ahead. Those who slacked off but were part of the management buddy system were those who were promoted and given bonuses. That's the ultimate in frustration for someone like me who had the importance of a good work ethic drilled into her head from an early age by my parents.

So for someone that didn't have that work ethic, why should they develop one when it's not rewarded? I know I have often cursed my parents for instilling it in me because it would be much easier to not care. Especially since there is no company loyalty anymore. Especially in network operations and call centers where they will lay off people and pile more and more work on their overworked employees until they are able to set up operations in South Japeepee where you can pay someone $10 a week to piss the customer off because they don't know how to troubleshoot without a script.

My current job, in academia, is so far different from my previous experience that it's amazing. Still no reward for a work ethic but in this case my manager appreciates it and lets me know. the past year has been the first time in 5 where my co-workers and I haven't updated our resumes weekly just in case we were victims of the latest RIF

 

[keepinitreal]

It has changed due to several factors:

1) No more job stability. Why would anyone want to pour their heart and soul into a company that would cut them in a heartbeat to save the bottom line?

2) Overall poor company morale. Why work extra for a company that doesn't appriciate you (bonuses, 401k match etc..)?

3) A generation of workers who are used to having mommy and daddy bailing them out when they don't want to do something.

#1 is the answer for me. I work extremely hard for the hours I'm at work and save the company extreme amounts of money and I'm in upper managment. I know however, that the ownership group would fire me in a heartbeat to help the bottom line and frankly don't give a rip about me. I'll give what I need and I am required to give but no more. I think some prior experiences with similar situations have jaded my attitude.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Our accounting dept definetly changed. From December 1 no one used to take off and we used to work New Years day/weekend with no comp time given( we are excempt from OT). Funny as it seemed but we actually enjoyed working through this time.
Now, no one dare works on New Years. If they stay very late they get comp days while having their meals payed for.

 

[luvthatduke]

#1 is the answer for me. I work extremely hard for the hours I'm at work and save the company extreme amounts of money and I'm in upper managment. I know however, that the ownership group would fire me in a heartbeat to help the bottom line and frankly don't give a rip about me. I'll give what I need and I am required to give but no more. I think some prior experiences with similar situations have jaded my attitude.

See, I can understand this, as many others have also talked about it.
But where I have bolded this statement, this is where I have
trouble with the young workers - you actually work what is
needed & required - my beef is with the many, many young workers
who don't even want to give that.

 

[keepinitreal]

See, I can understand this, as many others have also talked about it.
But where I have bolded this statement, this is where I have
trouble with the young workers - you actually work what is
needed & required - my beef is with the many, many young workers
who don't even want to give that.

I agree 100%!

 

[cardaway]

IMO the thread should be titled - Has modern American business practices killed the American work ethic.

IMO - yes

It's not just the youngest working class. Many people near retirement have the lack of worth ethic. They had it but lost it when they saw Ameircan business ehtics change for the worst.

 

[Towncrier]

My wife told me that there is a local McDonalds that is having such a problem finding reliable teenage workers (meaning that they show up for their assigned shifts) that they have instituted a new policy. After the teen shows up for work, she/he clocks in, grabs a soft drink, and then sits down for an hour to do homework. On the clock. Then after an hour, they go to work for their full shift. Apparently the teens like the idea of being paid to do homework.

Sounds like a good incentive, but it is alarming that some kids today feel the need to get paid to do their homework.

Then again, I am answering this thread at work, so perhaps I am being a bit hypocritical???