WORK ETHIC

DEFINITION: Work ethic is a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character.

A few comments on and off of the blog have inspired me to write this entry and it is one that will certainly draw ire on the part of some but essentially it is non-political.

Mowing the lawn today, I was reflecting on some comments on the blog, received in the mail and on the street about work ethic.

Anyone who has read me at all understands that I believe in self responsibility, self reliance, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and that charity begins at home.

I also, as you will see in the posts for the last year, believe in helping others, charity and reacting when folks are in need. The first set of talking points has nothing to do with the latter, however.

I have worked for all of my life, right up until age 14, very part time, whether it was picking berries or haying; my parents felt that it was something that everyone should learn to do…..WORK!

At 14, I took my first job and it was pretty dirty and there was no position much lower on the ladder. 45 hours per week at $1.60 per hour……that job led to other opportunities that were not as dirty and over the next 4 years, I learned the ropes of all of the jobs with this company and had the opportunity to try my hand at everything.

I can remember that if the boss called my home to find out if I could work and I was visiting a friend or out and about, my dad would track me down and say: “Come on, work called and they need you; you accepted the responsibility of a job, now you have to fulfill it.” I despised my parents for that kind of thing, but before long, when I entered the real workforce after college…..I understood. Over the years I have thanked them many times for that kind of parenting; a kind that you do not see often today.

Bottom line, they instilled a ‘work ethic’ in me that has been the center of my work life ever since. Throughout the years, I can recall so many co-workers constantly complaining: “I am not staying one minute past my scheduled time” or “I deserve a break and I am taking one” or “I don’t get paid enough to work this hard”. Many were constantly late, took sick time and snuck out of work early.

I could never understand any of those behaviors and attitudes. I was taught to show up early, stay late if necessary and ask if there was anything else that I could do. I was also taught to be a student of my job and learn new tasks and responsibilities. “Pay attention”, my dad would say, “do what your boss tells you to do, work hard, do the job well, be honest, go the extra mile and do more than is expected of you and you will be successful in life.” His credo was: “hard work and doing the right things will make you successful.”

That kind of thought process seems archaic in society today. In fact it is probably frowned upon in this nouveau world of sameness and ‘fairness’.

That is not to say that I was alone in this kind of upbringing. I had college friends who worked equally as hard doing even dirtier jobs on farms, paper mills, factories, etc. Work was in short supply for teens and college aged kids and you were lucky to have a job in the adult world.

Today, the message given to teens has changed, as has the upbringing. In the eighties, I had teens working for me and I recall vividly, parents calling in sick for their children (then you would see them later at the mall), parents telling me that their children “would not be in for the week of….because we are going away on vacation”….the same parents who came in with their little darling to apply for the job and telling me that there was no time off planned or needed. Then of course, there were the parents who complained that I was too “harsh” on their children because I reprimanded them.

My wife still manages younger people and although she is happy with her team, in the past I have heard similar stories; some even worse.

My parents understood work ethic, respect for your employer and would never have thought of doing any of those things. My first boss was tough….very tough…..I had the opportunity later in his life to meet up again several times and in his late 80’s had the opportunity to say “thank you”.

Thank you for being hard on me, thank you for motivating me in a way that I took responsibility for my performance, thank you for the opportunity to work and work hard! That experience defined how I would work the rest of my life. I learned to take initiative, risks, make decisions, reason and interact with all kinds of people.

Too often today, those first jobs held by teens (I like to call them the "formative" years of work habits) are singular in their responsibility and those who hold them are just living for quitting time. Not so in the 70's and 80's, nope, you would check out with your boss and if he said.."I could use you for another half hour", the answer was....'not a problem'. Today it is..."i have things to do" or "I have plans with my friends" or just plain "no, I can't work late." Then we wonder!!!!!!

Life in the United States has changed a lot in 30 years and we enjoy many more career and work options. However, pride in one’s work and “work ethic” has taken a serious hit in the last two decades.

Yes, many people and I would like to think most work very hard. However, today it is almost as if the employer and employee (I prefer team member) are at odds in many industries. It is about the money and standing up to the employer and practicing things that we would have NEVER dreamed of, like snapping at your boss, taking your problems to work and saying “NO” to a supervisor.

There are a record number of entrepreneurs in the United States today, more than at any time in history.  It is heartening that they 'get it' and know how to work hard and know the value of work ethic.  

I am not sure how other parents plan to raise their children but unless we return to lessons on work ethic, taking responsibility for oneself, hard work, respect and teach them that if you are determined to work hard that you will be successful…..I fear our country is destined to be a third rate nation.

Now, I am not saying anyone is lazy or that people don’t work hard but I do think that attitudes of doing the least possible, working the system at an employer and not respecting your employer is illustrated in the exportation of jobs overseas. It is part of the issue.

A determined workforce, willing to go the extra mile to get the job done was the key to success and what built this country. Let’s hope we return to basics in the next generation before this age of 'entitlement' erases one of the last bastions of self reliance.....WORK ETHIC!