Work Ethic

Work ethic, is it gone, or did employers take advantage of it for too long?

I’ve heard people say that this generation doesn’t have work ethic.
Is that true, or do they have more information to know they are being taken advantage of?


If you had/have a high work ethic did/do you regret it, or did it help you?
I’ll share my answers in a bit.

Yes, the pride in work still exist.
As an employer years ago my workers we thankful they had a paycheck at the end of the week
In return they were most thankful.

a reply to: JAGStorm

What's "ethic", JAG?



Wasn't about doing it for the employer. It was about doing it because I was professional in what I did.

Cheers

Don't regret it for a sec... has saved Me a few times. Lol it also got Me laid off once.

Boss: Your gung ho get it done attitude isn't going to be conducive with the new facility.
Me: Uh OK Bye!

a reply to: JAGStorm

The answer is both.

I read an article the other day that showed the results of a poll of college students.
They were asked what they expected their starting salary to be in their field of study.
These kids overestimated the stating wage by an average of $50k.

www.usatoday.com...

That being said, employers are very slow to raise benefits when they don’t have too.
It’s hard to blame they for that.
If two dealers are selling the same car the buyer will purchase the car with the lower price.
Human nature.

This dynamic will never change because it’s in both parties self interest for them to have the advantage.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I was taught to give my employer all that I could, and to always do my best. My father led by example and taught me well. it served me well in all my jobs. I went above and beyond in most cases, not to kiss ass, but to learn as much as I could from those who knew and were willing to teach me. I used every job as a stepping stone. Once I learned that I did have what it takes to try it on my own, I did, and was rewarded for the effort. I don't feel anything should be different. And those who don't put in the extra effort likely won't have the tools to advance themselves.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I believe in work ethic. It's an important quality, especially in the trades.

With the youth, I think it depends on the line of work. If someone can have a sense of fun while working or has a passion for what they do, it makes it much easier to get the most out of it. I see plenty of young people who work like that, but it's tricky trying different jobs enough to know if it can turn into a career.

I practice working to a high standard, and am conscious of this on the job. I don't regret it because it has given me a more goal oriented perspective. Looking forward and gauging progress by task, appears to make time go by much quicker. Also, putting your best foot forward each day, leaves little room for second guessing yourself when the work ends or unexpected things come up.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
or did employers take advantage of it for too long?

This, this, this, this, this

some of the basic job benefits eroded in the UK since I began work in 1990

paid breaks, you now work 8 hours a day but only get paid for 7.5
overtime used to be 1.5 times norml rate, now your lucky if you get anything other than flat rate
sunday/bank holiday used to be triple time, paid double and given day in lieu, now you might get 1.5 times normal time

zero hours contracts handed out like confetti, means no sick pay, no pension, no gaurantee of working hours

so basically workers rights have been eroded back to the victorian days and wages have stagnated for the last 30 years

a reply to: JAGStorm

I am retired now.

Have to say, looking back, that all my strong work ethic got me....was more work.

And not really any more pay.

Trained many a new employee because higher ups thought I was so good at my job...only to see those that I trained, slack off at their position while playing office politics and getting the promotions I had applied for.

Never do your job so well that you become "indispensable", because you'll never get a chance to move up.

And if you quit, after getting your fill of others climbing on your back to grab the brass ring, you'll spend your interviews for new jobs explaining why you left your old job, and coming across as "not a team player", difficult, and not the righ "fit".

Ultimately, I did my time, went quietly, got my pension and benefits....and realized that the best revenge against "the system" is to survive it long enough to watch it fail.


"Quiet Quitting"

Yup, kids got the right idea.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Work ethic, is it gone, or did employers take advantage of it for too long?

I’ve heard people say that this generation doesn’t have work ethic.
Is that true, or do they have more information to know they are being taken advantage of?

If you had/have a high work ethic did/do you regret it, or did it help you?
I’ll share my answers in a bit.

IDK, I think we have a lot of people in recent generations who are willing to live a very basic lifestyle if they can do it for free, and they got a taste of that with the lockdowns. I do see Gen Z being a more focused on the prize type generation, seeing more younger upstart skill based companies coming around, but people in their late 20s to mid 40 kind of suck...lol

As far as work ethics go I pay you a wage and I expect some quality work in return. If I mow your lawn and you come out and see I missed patches of grass and it all looks like crap are you going to say, thank you what a lovely job you did?

With that said there are companies that do take advantage of their people, and they leave. As a senior manager I do everything I can to keep people as replacing them is extremely costly and you are rolling the dice on whether the next person is good or just sucks, so it is best to do what you can to keep those you know are good.

I believe the decline in work ethic is a symptom of a much larger issue.

It seems people don't believe in themselves any more. They want everything handed to them...including a paycheck for just showing up.

That being said, employers are not innocent either.

I have been in the live entertainment industry for my whole life. When I started, pay was crap by I knew nothing. I volunteered for every sh#y job there was. Because I wanted to learn, I wanted to be the best. I had opportunistic employers start taking advantage of that. So I found new employers.

Today, I still stupid for the crap jobs. I still ask questions and learn to better myself. And I don't take gigs that don't pay me what I am worth.

Today, I am not the best. I still have more to learn...but I can run all day with the best. And I am proud of that.

I am lucky. My parents taught me to find what I love and go for it. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

Kids today are taught they are being held down in an unfair way. But it is those teaching that attitude that are holding them down. When they realize they can do it themselves, that is when they find fulfillment in life, and will have the work ethic we used to see.

originally posted by: Mantiss2021

Ultimately, I did my time, went quietly, got my pension and benefits....and realized that the best revenge against "the system" is to survive it long enough to watch it fail.


"Quiet Quitting"

Yup, kids got the right idea.

It sounds like you didn't work in the private sector...

The whole quiet quitting thing is really based on the job and the pay. You want to pay minimum wage then expect crap workers. the lowest pay on my team is 90k a year, there is no such thing as quiet quitting in that situation or it is let the door quietly hit you in the ass on your way out. Saying that my team loves me as I do everything I can to keep them and support them, but I expect quality work as a return on my efforts.

I’m a business owner, without a strong work ethic my business would have failed years ago. I do have a hard time motivating the younger staff members, apparently they don’t have room in their wallet for another hundred dollar bill.

a reply to: Xtrozero

I actually did work in the private sector, initially.

Until I realized that I could get the same treatment, for better pay, more employment security, plus health and pension benefits by switching to the public sector.

And I got to top it all off with a big heaping scoop of disdain, derision, and disrespect from the public I was working hard to serve.

And then, like a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, I went back into the private sector to try to apply what I had learned over 20+ years "in the system" to help people face off against the tax system.

Only to be used by my new employer to try to sell their customers useless "products" essentially the same as they could get, for Free!, from the state and federal government.

When COVID19 became a pandemic, it gave me just the "push" I needed to say "Chuck it All" and good riddance to the working life.

Best. Decision. Ever.

a reply to: JAGStorm

This is a good topic on Labor Day, so thank you.

I grew up with the idea (from both parents) that what ever you did, paid or not, you did to the best of your ability. And it wasn't done for fame and fortune it was done for self-satisfaction and growth. And this attitude has paid off in unexpected ways.

The word Ethic implies a group norm not a hard and fast rule.

Yes, the US work ethic has shifted over the last forty years (in some quarters). Without going into a deep dive on the subject I'll point out some potential influences (lol and influencers) on this shift from self-satisfaction to need for other-satisfaction (the need for acceptance, approval and validation from others).

What comes first to mind is "The OwnerShip Society" of Bush I:

"...if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of this country."
georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov...

The degradation of public education in the US:

Freeman said, “We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. … That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].”

theintercept.com...

Effect of video games:

Bottom line: From a military and law enforcement perspective, violent videogames are “murder simulators” that train kids to kill. They act just like police and military simulators, providing conditioned responses, killing skills and desensitization, except they are inflicted on children without the discipline of military and police training.

www.amazon.com...

originally posted by: Nickn3
I’m a business owner, without a strong work ethic my business would have failed years ago. I do have a hard time motivating the younger staff members, apparently they don’t have room in their wallet for another hundred dollar bill.

My read is that they have plenty of room for that hundred.

They just don't value that hundred the way we do.

They seem to have taken to heart the old adage we never truly believed, even as we would sagely utter it: "Money can't buy happiness"

They've learned that Happiness is worth more than money.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Work ethic, is it gone, or did employers take advantage of it for too long?

I’ve heard people say that this generation doesn’t have work ethic.
Is that true, or do they have more information to know they are being taken advantage of?


If you had/have a high work ethic did/do you regret it, or did it help you?
I’ll share my answers in a bit.

I've never regretted personal integrity.

It did take me a long time to understand and separate myself from everyone else.

Some people have no concept of the idea of integrity or consciousness of it. Unfortunately.

My work ethic would be to do the best job I can for my own integrity.

However, going beyond that depends on the person I'm working for.

"work ethic" by today's standards-
Going on vacation? Be sure to be available at a moments notice to be called into work at any time.
If we call and you don't drop what you're doing to work, you're not a team player and you'll be seeing this reflected in your annual review. Which reflects in the raise your get, even though that doesn't cover the increased cost of living over the past year in the first place.

There's no ethics involved in a modern day work ethic.

If I'm not going to do it well, then I don't see the point in doing it. I won't accept less than my best effort. Quiet quitting is soul killing, and it would kill me surely. I'd find a new job first.

It just rubs me wrong to be any other way.

originally posted by: Mantiss2021

Until I realized that I could get the same treatment, for better pay, more employment security, plus health and pension benefits by switching to the public sector.

And I got to top it all off with a big heaping scoop of disdain, derision, and disrespect from the public I was working hard to serve.

And then, like a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, I went back into the private sector to try to apply what I had learned over 20+ years "in the system" to help people face off against the tax system.

Only to be used by my new employer to try to sell their customers useless "products" essentially the same as they could get, for Free!, from the state and federal government.

When COVID19 became a pandemic, it gave me just the "push" I needed to say "Chuck it All" and good riddance to the working life.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Sounds like you picked the wrong profession from the get go...lol

I'm not a big fan of Goverment civilian jobs outside of a few areas as they typically allow apathy with a mix of Nepotism with no real need for production or quality. I got so many stories of people that suck big time that just can not be fired unless they kill someone who basically do nothing all day. One guy would sleep at his desk, untouchable.

All this could easily lead to hard workers being over looked as promotions are typically based on time and not performance. You then leave the public sector and just run into a crappy employer, or maybe in your profession that is the typical play of most of those businesses, who knows. In any case enjoy your retirement, I got like 3 years.