What is work ethic?

Firstly, I am not sure, whether this is the proper forum for this post. I thought between Social Issues and this seemed better. If necessary to move, please do.

In time, I have seen lots of comments when it comes to poor work ethic of newer generations. As there people across age spectrum in these forum, I though of creating this thread. I have significant experience in people management, less when it comes people of older generations, more with Millennials and Z generation.

There are certain nuances in the attitude between the generations, although I would say in the end it is up to the manager to find ways to work with different people and bring out the best of them. Each of us has different personality, different physical and mental health and it needs to be taken into consideration.

In my opinion, work ethic is simple - being passionate about what you do, getting things done in time (with deadlines having reasonable expectations) and being on time on necessary meetings (unless, it does not suit one's calendar, a reasonable notice and re-scheduling should happen).

When I look at older generation companies, the strict company rules, less respect for employee time, clear hierarchy and inflexibilities tend to stand out. In addition, time spent doing something, is in my opinion, is simple-minded and too one-dimensional tool for measuring performance. Rather work done should get measured.

I work in tech sector and my opinion mostly applies to office work sectors.

Micro-managing time and work might seem as being efficient, at the same time, especially with newer generations, it can lead to loss of morale. Expecting everybody to start at the same time with strict break time does not really make work more efficient. Technically speaking, why does it matter whether a programmer, analyst, accountant, marketing person starts at 9, 10 or 11, as long as their planned work gets done. Getting the work done matters, whenever or however you plan it. Not taking enough breaks also leads to loss of energy, thus affecting performance in the latter hours of the work day.

Flexibility and work life balance matter. I keep hearing from my US friends about companies having no boundaries when it comes to personal life. It is uncommon for vacation days being denied or cancelled, overtime expected, personal plans not taken into consideration. Everybody has life, hobbies and need time to switch off from work. That is an expectation with newer generations. If you have a doctor, want to work from home, are ill or have some other personal appointment, it is expected that you can just let your manager know and finish your tasks off-hours or during the weekend. A good work ethic does not mean one spending every living hour working, it means being responsible for ones projects and getting the work done withing allotted time-frame. Personally, I see people doing overtime as weaker employees. If you need more time than planned to finish your tasks, it was poor planning or prioritization either by your manager or personally. One needs to have respect for themselves and their personal life. I do not want my employees to get burnt out, have no time to spend with their spouse or kids or no hobbies.

Finally, the newer generations tend to have weaker mental health. This needs to be taken into consideration when communicating with them. A manager needs to be able to control their emotions and remain professional and positive all the time, even in crisis. Yelling, name-calling etc is not acceptable. The only straight firing I have ever done in more than 7 years, is when a manager called a junior an idiot for him making a mistake which cost the company 4 year salary of the junior. A manager needs to lead the team, inspire them, be a mentor, a coach, somebody who you can trust and listens if needed. Mental health issues are becoming more acceptable and it is uncommon for newer generation to share their physical or mental issues with their respective managers. They should not be judged for it. Giving feedback is a necessity, but it should be constructive, inspiring the person to push themselves more, rather than putting them down. One needs to care for their employees, but challenge at the same time.

These were just a few cents from what I have learnt. What do you think is work ethic?

a reply to: Cabin

Work Ethic ..

Show Up Every Day that is Required and be on Time . Do your job to the Best of your ability without Complaining . An Honest Days Pay for an Honest Day Work . Do not bring your " Job " home with you when you leave it for the day . Rinse and Repeat Until you are on Vacation .......Ah , that's about it ................*)

Some say there is more to life than work? But you do need to provide for yourself and your family. Or just live like rock stars off government aid.

a reply to: Cabin

I would totally agree with you if it wasn't for:

In my opinion, work ethic is simple - being passionate about what you do, 

This is the root of most of the problems, one of the causes of disappointment with one's job. And the favorite bulls**t mantra of many couches, celebs and authors of self help books. This is what they feed the young people's brains with; that the work should be your passion, that you should LOVE what you do, realize your lofty dreams etc. That if you don't feel enthusiastic about your work, if you don't love it, if you feel you don't evolve enough there, then you should look for another job of your dreams.

And the worse thing is that the similar crap is found in job advertisement. Even McDonalds offers its future employees the dream job in the team of passionate people, the opportunity to learn and evolve etc.

This causes people, especially young ones, extreme disappointment because they start from the level of high expectations, which life later verifies. Hardly any job is fascinating enough to become the job of your dreams. Let's add to this unrealistic financial expectations and the cup of bitterness is overflowing.

So what's the real work ethic: to be conscientious and dedicated to your work, to fulfill your duties to the best of your ability. You don't have to love your job or feel passionate about it. It's enough to have a sense of duty. Passion is a feeling and it can quickly pass away, dedication remains for much longer.

Sure, you shouldn't hate your job either. If you have a stomachache every time you go there, this is the call for the change.

HI

You just remided me of something that happend about 25 yrs ago

I was ill one morning (probably still hung over)
I foned work at 7am and left a msg on the answer fone.

About 9am I get a knock on my window....

WHAT THE EFFING HELL!!!

I went into panic mode.

I EFFING LIVED ABOVE A TV SHOP

I looked out the window
And theres my boss with with big wooden pole knocking my window.
I really got angry and said im ok I come down now.

So i got into sj410 and the boss was following me in his car.
At this point im really peed off so I done a BEVERLY HILLS COP LOOL

Waited till the traffic lights went red and sped over.

I got sacked next day but i didnt care I was still laughing.

But seriously though, a lot of things have to be restructured to stop barbaric bosses like that.

Still laughing now after all these years.

cheers

a reply to: Cabin

The good work ethic should be a two-way street. Using motivation techniques and/or perks works wonders.

a reply to: Cabin

Kind of hard for the younger generation to maintain the same to similar work ethic as generations past.

Down to the fact that a fair days pay for a fair days graft went out the window quite some time ago.

a reply to: Cabin

Work ethic is like pornography. Can't define it but I know it when I see it. I just quit my job for reasons unrelated to this, but on the topic of work life balance and the older generations. I started my job in 2003. After 20 years I had 3 weeks of vacation time. If I had started my job in 2001, when I hit 20 years I would have gotten 5 weeks of vacation time. This is because the company changed their vacation time policies in 2002. So companies are just taking away things that prior workers and prior generations had. And don't even get me started on my dad! He only had to work for 11 years to qualify for a pension at his job. He quit that job after 11 years and when he retired, he drew that pension. Pensions don't exist anymore and even if they did I guarantee you would have to work a hell of a lot longer than 11 years to draw it.

a reply to: Cabin

Which ethics really apply to the work environment? I've been in many many different work environments and if we are talking business ethics, then one's performance ethics would be to the bottom line, the almighty buck, if that company you work for is profit oriented. The not-for-profit sector might seem to require a set of different ethics.

Would that include social ethics? Perhaps in some ways.

Would that include personal ethics? What's in it for me?

Where would professional ethics come in for either for profit or for non-profit?

To me, it seems it could be a mish mash of different types of ethics depending on many factors.

As for the younger generations, they are the first generations where entrepreneurial opportunities abound. So why work for someone else, when one can expend all that energy and passion for one's own sake?

Where are the ethics when company top brass double their salaries (like McDonald's) while their workers can't live on the wages they are paid?

I think it boils down to a few simple things. I've been blue collar all my life and I've had jobs that I truly hated, but at the end of the day, I could look at what I did and say "I did that" and say it with pride.

Didn't matter what it was, I did the best I could. You don't have to love your job or even like it, you need pride in your self.

When I worked construction, I saw Carpenters do the jankiest crap and walk away from it saying "Meh, good enough ". I built every house like it was my own, because at the end of the day, I have to look myself in the mirror.

To me, that's work ethic. At the end of the day can you look yourself in the mirror and say "I did my best".

Easy. Work ethic is your attitude to work.

A manager does exactly that, manages. They work with what they have to accomplish what needs to be done.

Hope that helps

a reply to: Cabin

a reply to: Cabin

I agree that work ethic is simple. You don't leave until the job is done, execute tasks in such manner that the next tech or rep who arrives doesn't have to finish what you started, and when you screw up be honest with yourself and learn grace and humility from that review of your performance. In a sentence, you give your word to employer and client and you honor it. The literal "word" is a contract, the metaphysical word is a handshake and a guarantee that you will dedicate valuable resource. But honor is, as honor does. Maybe that should be your next topic.

a reply to: Cabin

For me, a GOOD work ethic is realizing that the work you do is a reflection on who you are. Whether I enjoy the work or not, when I do something, I want to be able to proudly point to it and say, "I did that."

When I was in the Navy, I was often told that I had an attitude problem. From their perspective, yes, that was true. From my perspective, my attitude was a result of the way I was treated. But when I did something, I did it to the best of my ability. It was about me and the pride I took in myself. The quality of my work was not going to suffer because my current boss happened to be an ahole, unless that ahole specifically told me to do substandard work.

I often butted heads with one particular division officer. One time, I embarrassed him at a morning muster. He instructed my chief to assign the worst job he could find. It was cleaning out the CHT pumps, the pumps that handle human waste.

Honestly, I found it amusing that they considered work to be punishment. I got my protective gear together, and did the job as best as I could. Then I went back to the chief and said, "That's done. What else you got?" When he couldn't find anything else, I went to the division officer and asked him for more work. It didn't take him long to run out of dirty jobs either.

Towards the end, I think the division officer and I developed a grudging respect for each other. He was a grade A jerk, but if he wanted something done by a certain time, he would be right there making sure it got done. And not just standing around pointing. He had his coveralls on, grinder, needle gun, paintbrush, in hand getting just as dirty as the rest of us. There were times when the whole division wanted to toss him overboard, I would just smile and go on about my work.

a reply to: Cabin

it's getting up off your ass, going to a job, doing the best you can without slacking, not ripping people off, everyday except on your days off.

it's pretty simple.

Working in the total opposite sector. A industrial paper mill in their steam department I’ll say what work ethic is to me.

Showing up on on time on even early facilitates as smooth relief of personal. It shows you also respect your time your co workers time and the company’s time.

Doing assigned jobs safely in a timely manner. Do one should get hurt or die at work but it happens all the time. One must have a safety ethic in order to have a proper work ethic.

But above all else to have work ethic a persons job must meet or exceed the individuals standards of self worth. You will never get a honest job done by someone who feels it’s beneath them same for if its way over their heads.

I hope you fired the junior who lost 4 years of salary and not the manager for saying one word.
Speaks volumes.


a reply to: Cabin

Never mind all i said is bull# BernnieJ summed it up better then I could.

a reply to: BernnieJGato

originally posted by: Cabin
... What do you think is work ethic?

Work ethic = slave mentality.

Change-out employee for slave, and manager for slave-driver, and re-read the OP.

The definition of a job is something so boring to do, that nobody would do it unless paid.

We've been lied-to our whole lives.

The youngest generation see this, and want no part of it.

They won't be the ass chasing the carrot dangling on the stick, pulling the cart along.

The lust for more carrots is our sickness.

A person working efficiently, to stack four cords of wood in his shed, is a different matter.
No slave-driver, no bossman, no whip, and no carrot = no need for a " work-ethic " nor slave-mentality.

We all claim to love the " All roads lead to Rome " thread, so why haven't we learned anything ?
Do we all have amnesia ?

originally posted by: BernnieJGato
a reply to: Cabin

it's getting up off your ass, going to a job, doing the best you can without slacking, not ripping people off, everyday except on your days off.

it's pretty simple.

Just doing what it takes to provide for those that you pledged to care for.

A day’s work for a day’s pay.

Being a contributing member of society.

It’s why “equity” and “reparations” are popular among the lazy left. Get lots of freebies and a free ride without fulfilling any of these social responsibilities.

A few generations back, they had a good saying -
“The world doesn’t owe you a living”.

This used to be well understood and accepted.

But today’s lazy entitled leftists scream
“Yes they do !”

originally posted by: KnowItAllKnowNothin

originally posted by: Cabin
... What do you think is work ethic?

Work ethic = slave mentality.

Change-out employee for slave, and manager for slave-driver, and re-read the OP.

The definition of a job is something so boring to do, that nobody would do it unless paid.

We've been lied-to our whole lives.

The youngest generation see this, and want no part of it.

They won't be the ass chasing the carrot dangling on the stick, pulling the cart along.

The lust for more carrots is our sickness.

A person working efficiently, to stack four cords of wood in his shed, is a different matter.
No slave-driver, no bossman, no whip, and no carrot = no need for a " work-ethic " nor slave-mentality.

Some people are proud of being trustworthy, and a good team member.

Some people are proud to have taken good care of those that they love and care for.

Some people are proud of being part of the classic 10% who can be counted on to help in most scenarios.

Some of us are proud that we find jobs that are legit and positive and productive.

But this isn’t for everybody lol, obviously.

Work ethic. Something the higher ups destroy then the boomers do their bidding for free.