As the workplace and educational institutions continues to change, the needs and wants for employees to perform at the highest level becomes expected. We are all faced with the idea of have a good “work ethic”. Another question should be asked or better yet determine…. Is a good work ethic something that can be taught or is it something this is developed over time.
Being somewhat new to the professional workplace and in my line of work, the concerns of having a good work ethics comes up quite often. Maybe this is due to the fact that I am a recent graduate, or maybe because employees are increasing expected to perform at higher standards over time. But as I think about this topic more and more I remember hearing complaints about older professionals not having a good work ethic because of their development of bad habits from pervious employment. This idea of have a good work ethic is changing just as much as technology in the workplace.
I remember when I was first exposed to the term work ethic. To my knowledge, a good work ethic was determining what acceptable and unacceptable behaviors towards the workplace were. Although this seems like the golden definition, it turns out to be the basis of establishing a foundation for how we perform our duties at work what we call a work ethic.
Now work ethic is reflective to the attitudes, desires and behaviors of today’s workplace. It varies depending on person and their employer. We describe work ethic today as how a person feels after a day of work. Also, work ethic is their motivation and dedication to get their job done. Maybe even the employee’s motivation and willingness to do the best job to prove themselves to be an asset to the company.
Can work ethics be taught?
I believe this is something that individuals can work on and improve in their adult hood. You cannot undo years of experiences and behaviors that that shape the morals of an employee. An employee can see one demonstrate acceptable behaviors and how to recognize proper actions and react to different situations. But teaching work ethic is something I think we have yet to figure out and would have to start in the childhood stages years before one makes it into the workforce.
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