the American work ethic

[lyssie]

Does it even exist?

No, really. I want to know.

I've been working on and off for the last 11 years. I have, what I'd consider, a good work ethic. I go to work, I do what they tell me to, I get my fucking job done, and I don't goof off while I'm working.

Hell, my current job, I spend about 50% of it twiddling my thumbs. But if they gave me work, I'd do it.

Contrast that with the people around me.

They take a smoking break every half hour. They talk (and at least one of them HAS other work to do) and talk and talk. One girl's boyfriend, who works in another department, visits her at least once every half hour.

Let's talk about other offices I've been in: people bitch about how much work they do, yet spend the time goofing off during the day, and do as little work as possible. I've seen this, over and over. The temps do more work than the people getting paid more.

So, this American Work Ethic I keep hearing about, and how it needs to be preserved, and how Americans are so down-trodden because we work the longest with the fewest vacations?

Is bullshit.

Comments

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

The question is... are you a business owner? And do you want to be?

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

No, and no. I flunked business out of boredom.

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

The question is, is your job making them more money than they're paying you?

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Given that I've pretty much sold more than my rent is in two nights, I'm pretty sure they're making more money than they're losing on me.

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

Then there you go. ;) (I forget my point, and am about to fall asleep at this hour, but I used to have one, I swear... will try to salvage it tomorrow)

[mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com]

Well, I think the theory is we do work more hours and days than anyone else, but it all evens out because we goof off a lot. People do studies on this kind of thing. And try to have national awareness days.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Then there is, at least, some work ethic.

[stacyx.livejournal.com]

See, here is just the opposite. I've seen people come in at midnight on a Sunday night to get work done. Everyone comes in at 7am and works til at least 5 if not later. One guy came in at 5:30 one morning because he had a lot to do and wanted to get it done.

*shrugs* I guess it depends on the environment.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

I wish it were true here.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I come in on my day off to help customers who've been screwed over by my coworkers [though my coworkers could actually mean the department that goes out to the home and those I can't pummel bloody].

I stay late, no matter how long past my end of the day time it is if a customer needs me to.

I also tell the techs who are handling the issues at the customer's house I'll take over so they aren't late to their next jobs and that I'll finish up with the customer.

So yeah, there is a work ethic. It's just that so few jobs pay their people what they're really worth that people feel resentful they're not getting paid what they deserve; and then the mindset becomes "why should I work as hard if I can if they're not paying me what I deserve for it?" It's a morale thing, to some degree. The work level goes up at my current job every time they do an event that feeds us or they offer us money.

In this economy, that's understandable.

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

Buggered if I know. The work ethic - at least around here, perhaps it is this country as a whole - shocks me. I'd get fired if I did *half* the things Tom tells me his coworkers get away with on a frequent basis.

[blinovitch.livejournal.com]

I've seen it the same as you have, chief, particularly in the job search itself.

Those who don't have it want it worse than anything; those who do have it don't appreciate it and look askance at anyone who doesn't.

The TV station I'm working at actually has some people with an amazing work ethic. If there's a gap on the morning news crew, more than a few people will step up and be right at the station for 5:30, regardless of whether they had just done the 11:00 PM news.

[trinalin.livejournal.com]

I'd say the work ethic at my place of employ is very healthy - almost so much that it's unhealthy. Teachers in general tend to do more than they're asked, work longer than they should, and then bitch about the pay. ;-)

Personally, I work from 7:30am (officially 7:45) til 4pm, and I have no time to goof off. Yes, I do have a little down time from time to time where I can chat with the secretaries, but you need a little break to keep up productivity.

What I can't figure out is how my tech predecessor had time to download & watch LotR trailers etc.. :-)

[erica-w.livejournal.com]

Is it a union job? God knows they've done more harm than good in recent years.

[curlyjo1.livejournal.com]

Sadly, there are far more people hardly working, than working hard these days. To the point that my store is running out of people to hire that haven't A)failed their drug tests, B)already worked here and have been fired, or C)already worked here and then quit.

And you don't want to know how many of them quit within the first three days. It's retail, people. It's not that flipping hard.