Running head: Work Ethic 1

Work Ethic

Kristyn Ann Lloyd

Brigham Young University- Idaho

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Abstract

Having a good work ethic is important in helping you to have success in

receiving an education, in the workplace, in family life, and in personal endeavors.

Giving an honest effort to all that you do will help you to accomplish more and feel

good for doing so. Hard workers are seen as better employees and all around better

people. While hard work is dying in the latest generations, it is still a valuable

character trait that encourages people to earn their success.

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Introduction

“The American dream has always included achieving financial success;

however, the celebrated method of acquiring money has changed over the centuries

of American history.” (Warshauer, 2003, Para 2) When we think of someone that

achieves this American dream, we most commonly think of someone who has

devoted many hours of work, thrift, and creativity towards this goal. They are

determined and will not give up until they reach their idea of success. Nearly all

successful people who live this ‘American dream’ share this one quality: a strong

work ethic.

“Work ethic is the degree of dedication or commitment to work.” The work

ethic of individuals shows their true commitment to do something and how much

they truly value it. (Goldsmith, 2013, Pg. 305-306) It is important to have a good

work ethic if you want to be successful in any aspect of your life. Giving an honest

effort to all that you do will help you to accomplish more and feel good for doing so.

Hard workers are seen as the best employees and all around better people. While

hard work is dying in the latest generations, it is still a valuable character trait that

encourages people to earn their success.

A strong work ethic also shows responsibility, politeness, shows a

conservative nature, the ability to be organized, have self-discipline, and

predictability. It is something that companies look for when they are hiring, as it

proves their true worth as an employee. When individuals work hard, they feel

happy for what they have done and feel accomplished. Being willing to work hard is
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a valuable character trait to have in all aspects of your life. (Goldsmith, 2013, Pg.

305-306)

Success in education

Even in grade school, any one of the students could recite that a strong work

ethic is important for achieving success. It is ingrained into our value system at a

very young age in the attempt to shape our personalities. “Many people view the

work ethic as a ‘good thing’—certainly most parents and school teachers see it that

way. Many people attach a moral stigma to persons who do not demonstrate a

commitment to the work ethic” (Trescott, 2015, Para 3).

In a study about the success of students in law school, there were three main

factors that stood out. These important factors are test scores, strategies for

learning, and personal qualities such as their work ethic. “Certain backgrounds

make for quicker adjustment to law study; and various markers of personal

qualities—maturity, work ethic, and motivation—truly are significant positives.”

(Moss, 2016) It mentioned several times that these traits were linked as solid traits

that lead to academic success in studying law.

Hard work builds character

Self-sacrifice and frugality truly teach something that cannot be learned any

other way. When someone puts forth the effort to truly earn something, there is no

replacement for the pride and joy they feel for a job well done. Hard work

encourages people to appreciate the things that they have because they are aware of

the amount of effort that went into getting it. A strong work ethic allows individuals
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to be more grateful for the work others have done for them as well. It is a character

trait that makes people reliable rather than dependent on others.

With work colleagues, family members, and others in the community, hard

workers begin to notice and appreciate the little things that others do consistently

and thank them for it. This makes those with a good work ethic more enjoyable to

work with. They are also more dependable in their own responsibilities because

they see themselves as team players and are willing to do their part to bring about

success. Positivity is also another character trait among hard workers; they don’t let

mistakes or failure bring them down. They keep trying because they have an end

goal in mind and aren’t going to give up before they reach it.

A quality that employers seek

Having a strong work ethic allows you not only to keep your job, but also to

succeed in the work place. In an effort to hire great, new employees for their

company, Bertrand and Mullain held an experiment in an interview process that

analyzed work ethic. They say:

“…A ‘Worker Quality Assessment’ was given. An applicant could be assessed

to fall into one of two categories: ‘poor or excellent’. In the work ethic

conditions, hard workers were those who had "excellent" worker quality

assessments and were always compared to "poor" workers ("Lazy"). The

hard-working and lazy dichotomy is used simply to operationalize how work

ethic is rewarded and allows us to compare [the different workers] while

keeping everything else constant. In this way, testing the differences across
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groups provides us with estimates of how much "hard work" is worth to each

of the various group.” (DeSante, 2013, 347)

From this we can tell that hard work is something that employers look for

even before hiring their workers. If an excellent work ethic is such an important

requirement from the beginning in employment, clearly it is a quality that will be of

lasting importance throughout the career.

Later the same study goes on to explain that those that had tested to have a

hard work ethic expected to be rewarded, and those with the poor work ethic

expected a punishment for their behavior. It goes to say that it is something that is

so ingrained in our society that they expected rewards and punishments according

to how they scored. This meanings that most people already know that a strong

work ethic is necessary to receive success in the office. In real life, this would be the

difference of who would actually get the job that was being offered.

Job security

In an in-depth business study Carlin and Gervais discovered that the skills

and qualifications of employees are not near as important as their work ethic (2009,

pg. 787). They further explain the financial costs, and that indeed there is a great

risk economically to only hire someone based on their skill base. The article

discusses how many companies focus too much on hiring those that are qualified for

the job, rather than those with the character to keep doing their job. All of this just

reiterates that a hard working employee is a very valuable asset to any company.

Opposing views
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It truly is “hard work” and takes a long time to earn your way to success.

Some people have become rich and successful through luck at the lottery and

through lawsuits in their favor. Some might argue that a strong work ethic may

waste your time, where the rewards from slots and luck come quickly. What has

changed are the “Americans' beliefs about work ethic and the deserving poor.”

(DeSante, 2013, Pg.354)

Achievement has been redefined by society

The whole idea of hard work and effort is being diminished in importance in

our society today. Many loved characters in the media are perceived as lazy; slowly

but surely a “lack of effort” has been accepted as common in our culture. And sadly it

is becoming an acceptable, and attractive character trait. This generation, especially

in the United States, is becoming lazy. Many expect to be taken care of without much

effort on their part. There is a severe issue in today’s culture with those that feel

entitled to their ‘fair share’ of resources without ever working for it. In 2006 Brooks

shares his opinion on the issue:

“What I see is a migration of values. Once upon a time, middle-class

men would have defined their dignity by their ability to work hard, provide

for their family and live as self-reliant members of society. But these fellows

[today] define their dignity by the loftiness of their thinking. They define

their dignity not by their achievement, but by their personal enlightenment,

their autonomy, by their distance from anything dishonorably menial or

compulsory. In other words, the values that used to prevail among the
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manorial estates have migrated to parts of mass society while the grinding

work ethic of the immigrant prevails in the stratosphere (Para 12).”

Basically, hard work is seen as just that: a whole lot of hard work. By today’s

standards, people are just simply uninterested by this. It seems as if they would

rather be lazy than put forth effort to earn their reward.

Hard work is hard

“Individuals with a strong work ethic are significantly more likely to return

home from work exhausted, which is a measure of how much effort they exert in

their jobs” (Forquesato, 2016, Para 28). Nothing is truly earned without a little

blood, sweat, and tears; effort is required for greatness. While some have won the

“lottery”, by getting rich in other ways than hard work, we must remember that

success is not defined only by money. Success could be defined by happiness, service

to others, a thriving family, an important place in the company, etc. There are many

factors that can make someone successful, but one of the most important of those is

the feeling of a job well done.

Conclusion

As has been discussed, a strong work ethic is a highly valued character trait

that can only bring success. In a time where more and more people are becoming

lazy, it becomes evermore important to work hard for what we have. A work ethic is

not only something that will bring about personal happiness from completing tasks;

it will help in many other aspects of life. Strong work ethic will sharpen the

educational experience, prepare individuals for their life long careers, and ensure

family happiness. An honest effort to achieve personal dreams earns individuals a

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special place in society, and they are highly respected for it. Not even the lucky stand

to compare with those choice individuals that choose to work hard in this world,

earning their way to the “American dream”.

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Resources

1. Brooks D. Bye-bye bootstraps. In: The new york times. ;2006:21.

http://byui.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com.byui.idm.oclc.o

rg/apps/doc/EJ3010663209/OVIC?u=byuidaho&xid=01e743cf.

2. Brunet Marks A, Moss SA. What predicts law student success? A longitudinal

study correlating law student applicant data and law school

outcomes. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. 2016;13(2):205-265.

3. Carlin BI, Gervais S. Work ethic, employment contracts, and firm value. The

Journal of Finance. 2009;64(2):785-821.

4. DeSante CD. Working twice as hard to get half as far: Race, work ethic, and

america's deserving poor. Am J Polit Sci. 2013;57(2):342-356.

5. Forquesato P. Social norms of work ethic and incentives in organizations. Journal

of Economic Behavior & Organization. 2016;128:231-250.

6. Goldsmith, E. B. (2013). Resource management for individuals and families (5th

ed.). Boston: Pearson.

7. Trescott PB. Work ethic and race relations. Salem Press Encyclopedia. 2015.

8. Warshauer M. Who wants to be a millionaire: Changing conceptions of the

american dream. In: American studies today online. ; 2003.

http://link.galegroup.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010415202/OVIC

?u=lawr16325&xid=67f9609a.