I’m hanging out in the cyber lounge with Maren Hogan and Sarah White.
Sarah just gave an interesting perspective on work ethics in America. I won’t paraphrase her very passionate and thoughtful argument, but I wonder:
- Do some Americans lack a worth ethic?
- How many people do you know who try to buck the system and take advantage of federal benefit programs, welfare, and unemployment?
- How many people blame institutional prejudices instead of taking ownership of their own lives and their careers?
What are your thoughts, yo?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Being a recruiter of temp workers, I see a lack of work ethic all the time. I get people who beg me for a job, work a few days, and then file for unemployment. I also get people who are currently out of work who won’t take a short-term assignment because the pay is too low. Huh? Last time I checked, something is better than nothing. I guess when the checks roll in for doing nothing but watching tv all day, why work? Leave that to the rest of us who are taxed to fund their laziness. I know there are many people who do legitimately need this assistance, but there are many more who make a career out of scamming the system.
Do some Americans lack a worth ethic? Of course, but so do some people of any nation you could ask about. I have hours of frustrating stories about people that worked for me that lacked work ethic over the years. I also have hours of stories about people that amaze me with their commitment and drive. Lumping people together by country, generation, nationality, race, etc. might not be the right approach. I think it’s more like a personality or emotional issue that can be brought on by the environment (political, work environment, economic conditions, social issues, etc.)
How many people do you know who try to buck the system and take advantage of federal benefit programs, welfare, and unemployment?
Personally – none. Just the ones I see on the news.
How many people blame institutional prejudices instead of taking ownership of their own lives and their careers? Probably more than don’t, but I don’t think I’m qualified to have an opinion. The reason I say “probably more than don’t” is that I find being accountable or taking personal ownership is a unique quality. Any reason not to could be used as an excuse – I’ve heard some incredibly trivial reasons why an employee won’t be accountable over the years.
@A. Wow, that’s a passionate response. I respect it, but my experiences and observations are different.
@George I like your final paragraph. Who can really quantify scam artists and chumpskys? It’s tough to interject facts into this discussion.
Well, I can’t really comment on Americans, but then I can comment on Australians, and I think people are people are people wherever they go.
I work in the worker’s compensation industry. From here, the vast majority of workers I have seen have genuinely wanted to get back to work and were not trying to take advantage of the system. That having been said, there is a small minority that are in it for whatever they can get. I have seen people lie on medical certificates, their living arrangements, purposely stuff up interviews by telling interviewers they want a job that’s utterly unrelated to what they’re interviewing for. And it makes my blood boil. These people are very lucky that I am ethical enough that I won’t ignore their right to privacy, because some of them are just the sort of people you see on the news as scammers.