Work Ethic

[Double L]

The work ethic of people today has gone by the wayside. Potential employees beg for a job and pride themselves on being dependable and trust-worthy in the initial interview. However, once they are hired a different person seems to show up for the job. They report to the first day of training fifteen minutes late. Within the first week they tell the boss of all the days they have to have off for one reason or another. The new employee now has decided they can only work a certain shift and only on certain days. It’s as if the employee has suddenly forgotten that during the interview they said they could work “any and all” shifts. Not to mention that working weekends was not an issue during the interview but now it just is not feasible.

Apparently weather conditions should apply to work as they do in school. Snow accumulation is in the forecast, can’t make it to work. Wind is blowing too hard and it might mess up the hairdo, can’t make it to work. Even better than calling off by itself is when an employee waits to call off until twenty minutes before their scheduled shift begins.

Furthermore, the employee does show up for work. Now let’s pay said employee an hourly wage to just stand around and do absolutely nothing of importance to the job. The employee wants a job to pay them so they can text, talk on their cell phone, get online and check face book, or stand around talking to their friends for eight hours. However, at the end of their shift they act so tired from “working” as if they had done something so strenuous.

Whatever happened to the day when having a job, no matter how menial, actually meant something such as the days when people never called off work even if they were extremely sick. With the economy the way it is today, jobs are very difficult to find. Having a college degree is not even a guarantee of employment anymore. Ironically, some people still choose to treat a job like it is a joke and they think they can just go out and get another job without any problems.

Although the majority of employees that fall into this type of person are younger, there are older ones as well. That is probably the scariest point of all. These employees are not confined to any one category. They are from all ages, races, classes, and backgrounds. Most are just getting started in life. However, some are in the middle stages and some are on the downside of life.

What causes this poor work ethic in people? It could be the upbringing or it could be personal attitude or it could be any number of things. One thing is certain, work ethics of people today is not the same as it was years ago in the days of our grand-parents. Maybe when people can’t buy food for themselves they will realize that flipping burgers is better than going hungry.

[ThaddeusW]

Its odd. I had a job offer a few months back from my brothers friend. So I figured why not? So they hired me on part time and are potentially offering me full time this coming January. I show up 15-20 min before the bell rings, always keep myself busy and I am as polite and positive as possible with all of my co-workers. So they hired on another part timer, younger than me (23) and was offered the job through another employee (that has allot of pull). So they put him on a machine to run a big job, few thousand pieces. Well he was too busy playing on his cell phone with text messages to actually ensure the pieces were properly aligned in the fixture. His run yeilded 30 bad parts, unacceptable for the strict quality control for those parts. I ran the job and had similar reject numbers as a 12 year veteran (less than 6). Somehow he thinks its acceptable to be on the phone while at work. I just don't get it.

[Double L]

When he is on the phone texting he is stealing from the company....Stealing their time!

[Rob]

American Way. Employees have rights to.......

Rob

[Double L]

People think everything they deserve is a right when it's a privilege. It's not a right to have a job, it's a privilege and the same can be said about cell phones, computers, internet, cars, and driver's license.

[Rob]

People think everything they deserve is a right when it's a privilege. It's not a right to have a job, it's a privilege and the same can be said about cell phones, computers, internet, cars, and driver's license.

You read my comment wrong. I've fired employees cause they couldn't stay off their cell phones on my time. I wasn't paying people to screw off on the internet so I let the office girl go and she had little ones at home. When she didn't straighten up after counseling, (mine) I put her on the bricks with no remorse. Same thing with quality issues. In an autobody shop atmosphere I looked at every single car that was nearing completion because if it came back for warranty repairs, it was free to the end user. After a second time, expensive on the shop, as the employee whom performed the work initially was no longer employed after the re-repair. This is the same with vendors. Don't want to be favorable with me, (end user) then there are other vendors. This is why I don't, and never will use PPG products again. The backing of their warranty is no better than the paper it's written on.

My views may sound extreme and they are. One thing I learned early on is that employees don't care in this day and age about fostering, or supporting the business no matter the amount of compensation provided. If you are making money, they want more figuring you owe them. Most have not idea of the cost to an employer of their "true cost" of giving them a job. I only had a couple of guys that would even shut the lights off in the spray booth after finishing painting for the day. Those eight 400 watt halide bulbs like their juice too! To walk into the shop and discover the lights have been on for 6 hours and not a single car has been in there would make me livid!

Work ethics need beat into these kids nowadays. They sure aren't learning it in school.

Rob

[Double L]

You read my comment wrong. I've fired two employees cause they couldn't stay off their cell phones on my time. I wasn't paying people to screw off on the internet so I let the office girl go and she had little ones at home. When she didn't straighten up after counseling, (mine) I put her on the bricks with no remorse. Same thing with quality issues. In an autobody shop atmosphere I looked at every single car that was nearing completion because if it came back for warranty repairs, it was free to the end user. After a second time, expensive on the shop, as the employee whom performed the work initially was no longer employed after the re-repair. This is the same with vendors. Don't want to be favorable with me, (end user) then there are other vendors. This is why I don't, and never will use PPG products again. The backing of their warranty is no better than the paper it's written on.

Rob

Yeah my mom asked for my opinion on a woman she has working for her, I told her to give her a 3 day suspension and if she doesn't get her act together then terminate her. You would think someone with a family would put be more mature and not screw up their job just to play on the internet. That is why I do my own repair work while I may not be the sharpest saw in the drawer I try my best to get it done right. I just don't trust anyone to work on my vehicle, sure I'll ask for their advice but I rather do the work myself and blame myself for breaking or messing up something. I take that back the only person I trust to work on my vehicle is my dad.

[Double L]

When I was 15-16 I didn't have the very best work ethic in the world then again but I've grown up since then and grown up a lot since then! I use to think I was the most mature and good kid back then and well it's obviously I wasn't and my ego was getting the best of me back then. While I still think I'm the more mature and respectful than most people in my age group I have my moments where I can be "immature" but then again that comes with my sense of humor as well. In a nut shell I'm a proud short bus rider.

[partzmaster]

When I was 15-16 I didn't have the very best work ethic in the world then again but I've grown up since then and grown up a lot since then! I use to think I was the most mature and good kid back then and well it's obviously I wasn't and my ego was getting the best of me back then. While I still think I'm the more mature and respectful than most people in my age group I have my moments where I can be "immature" but then again that comes with my sense of humor as well. In a nut shell I'm a proud short bus rider.

Well Said Double L! This new cell phone,VoTech generation is one of the worst deterents for customer reliability in our Industry! They demand alot more than they are willing to give! And best of all are never Wrong! Thanks!

[Double L]

I'm not afraid to admit it that a few years ago (19) that was I was a screw up in terms of jobs. Goes to show I learned and I'm human.

[Double L]

If you want poor work ethic then go down to the TA, most have some poorly qualified just out of school incompetents working for them and what is bad is the driver's have to stand over their shoulder and watch them do the work.

[vanscottbuilders]

The really dangerous part of all this "poor work ethic" and "I deserve everything" attitude is that more and more of the people are demanding, and getting, compensation from our government. In exchange for votes I suppose. Somewhere along this path it has to fail. We, as a shrinking workforce, cannot keep shouldering the bill for this ever increasing entitlement program. And we sure cannot keep borrowing the money from the rest of the world, just to pay the interest on the debt we already have! Something has to give. And when it does, our economy will probably bottom out unlike anything else we have ever seen.

Someone recently called the 2000 - 2010 decade the "Fading of the American Dream". That's very scary to me.

We are all in it together - from unemployment benefits or health care or all of the assorted subsidies or stimulus foolishness - somehow, somewhere almost all of us are getting some money to relieve us of our responsibility for taking care of ourselves. Can you say "Socialism"? We may already be the most socialist country on earth. And it might be too late to get the American way of life back. That's a terrible thought, but it might be reality.

So many of us are sucking off of the government that we are all afraid to send a simple message to our representatives and just say "No, we've had enough of your political foolishness and out of control spending - you are fired" And then we need to remember not to elect any lawyers. Let's elect farmers, truck drivers, independant business people and plain old common sense thinkers for a change. If you have any political experience, we don't want you. Period. It couldn't hurt - what we have now obviously isn't working!

Nice to rant now and then.

It would be even better if we actually did something about it!

Paul Van Scott

[RowdyRebel]

You read my comment wrong. I've fired employees cause they couldn't stay off their cell phones on my time. I wasn't paying people to screw off on the internet so I let the office girl go and she had little ones at home. When she didn't straighten up after counseling, (mine) I put her on the bricks with no remorse. Same thing with quality issues. In an autobody shop atmosphere I looked at every single car that was nearing completion because if it came back for warranty repairs, it was free to the end user. After a second time, expensive on the shop, as the employee whom performed the work initially was no longer employed after the re-repair. This is the same with vendors. Don't want to be favorable with me, (end user) then there are other vendors. This is why I don't, and never will use PPG products again. The backing of their warranty is no better than the paper it's written on.

My views may sound extreme and they are. One thing I learned early on is that employees don't care in this day and age about fostering, or supporting the business no matter the amount of compensation provided. If you are making money, they want more figuring you owe them. Most have not idea of the cost to an employer of their "true cost" of giving them a job. I only had a couple of guys that would even shut the lights off in the spray booth after finishing painting for the day. Those eight 400 watt halide bulbs like their juice too! To walk into the shop and discover the lights have been on for 6 hours and not a single car has been in there would make me livid!

Work ethics need beat into these kids nowadays. They sure aren't learning it in school.

Rob

Damn right. The employee shows up for work, and at the end of the day when they punch out, they don't have to THINK about anything work related until they punch back in the following day. Most have no idea what goes on AFTER business hours or the other expenses involved in operating a business. Most have no idea how much it costs the employer just to OFFER them the PRIVILEGE of having a job.

I've always tried to tell people that if your employer isn't making a profit as a result of the work that you do, you won't have a job for very long. Entrepreneurs risk their capital to start a business in order to see a return on their investment...profits. If profits are good, the business can expand...adding employees. Employees are an investment...if they don't provide good returns on that investment, the job is terminated. It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

My first job was a camp councilor at a Boy Scout camp. The camp director was a real hard-ass and gave us the following speech on the first day of our employment:

"You are all employees of the camp. ANYTHING that needs being done at the camp is your job. I don't care if your job title is 'scoutcraft instructor', if the commissary needs help getting food ready to send to the troops, that is your job. I don't care if your job title is 'nature instructor', if the waterfront staff needs help on Saturday with the swim checks, that is your job. If I hear 'that ain't my job' out of ANYONE, you'll be on the next bus home."

Anyone I have worked for, I figure they are paying me for my time...that I owe them a full day's work for a full day's wage. It doesn't matter if I'm pushing a broom or whatever else needs doing, I'm on the clock. If the job needs doing, I'll do it.

Unfortunately these days, I work for a real slave driver who takes advantage of my strong work ethic...got me playing the roles of driver, mechanic, secretary, & accountant...and because I agreed to work on salary, most weeks I find myself wishing I was lucky enough to be making the minimum wage. Oh well...at least I get to drive a kick-ass truck.

[HK Trucking]

Unfortunately these days, I work for a real slave driver who takes advantage of my strong work ethic...got me playing the roles of driver, mechanic, secretary, & accountant...and because I agreed to work on salary, most weeks I find myself wishing I was lucky enough to be making the minimum wage. Oh well...at least I get to drive a kick-ass truck.

Yup.

It's a bitch being self employed ain't it!

I worked for a slave driver like that for 19 years too!

.

[Double L]

I'd rather be a self employed truck driver than a otr company driver any day!

[Gambi80]

Ahh...I can't stop laughing because of this topic... I worked as a full time temp at a certain state agency over the winter last year. Holy f&^%ng sh^t, you want to see some of the hardest working, most dedicated well trained hard ass, most bang for their buck workers of them all, go pay a visit, watch and learn!!

[other dog]

The really dangerous part of all this "poor work ethic" and "I deserve everything" attitude is that more and more of the people are demanding, and getting, compensation from our government. In exchange for votes I suppose. Somewhere along this path it has to fail. We, as a shrinking workforce, cannot keep shouldering the bill for this ever increasing entitlement program. And we sure cannot keep borrowing the money from the rest of the world, just to pay the interest on the debt we already have! Something has to give. And when it does, our economy will probably bottom out unlike anything else we have ever seen.

Someone recently called the 2000 - 2010 decade the "Fading of the American Dream". That's very scary to me.

We are all in it together - from unemployment benefits or health care or all of the assorted subsidies or stimulus foolishness - somehow, somewhere almost all of us are getting some money to relieve us of our responsibility for taking care of ourselves. Can you say "Socialism"? We may already be the most socialist country on earth. And it might be too late to get the American way of life back. That's a terrible thought, but it might be reality.

So many of us are sucking off of the government that we are all afraid to send a simple message to our representatives and just say "No, we've had enough of your political foolishness and out of control spending - you are fired" And then we need to remember not to elect any lawyers. Let's elect farmers, truck drivers, independant business people and plain old common sense thinkers for a change. If you have any political experience, we don't want you. Period. It couldn't hurt - what we have now obviously isn't working!

Nice to rant now and then.

It would be even better if we actually did something about it!

Paul Van Scott

That's what I thought when Virgil Goode, plain 'ol southside Va. tobacco farmer, lost in the the last election. He actually listened to the people, and actually replied to phone calls and mail. Did his job in other words. Was dead-set against illegal immigrants. But he lost to a big shot city slicker lawyer type democrat in the last election-who's done nothing by the way.

I think the "you owe me a living, i'm looking for my handout now" people outnumber the rest of us. And that is a problem.

[other dog]

Damn right. The employee shows up for work, and at the end of the day when they punch out, they don't have to THINK about anything work related until they punch back in the following day. Most have no idea what goes on AFTER business hours or the other expenses involved in operating a business. Most have no idea how much it costs the employer just to OFFER them the PRIVILEGE of having a job.

I've always tried to tell people that if your employer isn't making a profit as a result of the work that you do, you won't have a job for very long. Entrepreneurs risk their capital to start a business in order to see a return on their investment...profits. If profits are good, the business can expand...adding employees. Employees are an investment...if they don't provide good returns on that investment, the job is terminated. It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

My first job was a camp councilor at a Boy Scout camp. The camp director was a real hard-ass and gave us the following speech on the first day of our employment:

"You are all employees of the camp. ANYTHING that needs being done at the camp is your job. I don't care if your job title is 'scoutcraft instructor', if the commissary needs help getting food ready to send to the troops, that is your job. I don't care if your job title is 'nature instructor', if the waterfront staff needs help on Saturday with the swim checks, that is your job. If I hear 'that ain't my job' out of ANYONE, you'll be on the next bus home."

Anyone I have worked for, I figure they are paying me for my time...that I owe them a full day's work for a full day's wage. It doesn't matter if I'm pushing a broom or whatever else needs doing, I'm on the clock. If the job needs doing, I'll do it.

Unfortunately these days, I work for a real slave driver who takes advantage of my strong work ethic...got me playing the roles of driver, mechanic, secretary, & accountant...and because I agreed to work on salary, most weeks I find myself wishing I was lucky enough to be making the minimum wage. Oh well...at least I get to drive a kick-ass truck.

True indeed. My brother-in-law was looking for a job one time and I got him a job working in the shop at the company I drove for, servicing trucks. The first time the shop foreman asked him to line the brakes on a trailer he refused, and that's exactly what he said-"that's not my job".

Nobody has any pride in their job anymore, they're just looking for that paycheck. I've been loading at a steel mill before, after sitting there all afternoon, and the workers quit a half hour before their shift was over with just one more lift to go on the trailer. And of course the next shift had to screw around at least a half hour before they do anything. And then if the truck ain't sitting 500 miles away at 7:00 the next morning to unload the truck driver must be a no-good lazy shiftless bum.

[Double L]

Unfortunately it seems like Blue Collar workers get a bad rap while the White Collar workers get to enjoy luxury. Hell if it wasn't for the Blue Collared folks them White Collared workers wouldn't have a nice job with benefits or anything like that.

[Rob]

True indeed. My brother-in-law was looking for a job one time and I got him a job working in the shop at the company I drove for, servicing trucks. The first time the shop foreman asked him to line the brakes on a trailer he refused, and that's exactly what he said-"that's not my job".

Nobody has any pride in their job anymore, they're just looking for that paycheck. I've been loading at a steel mill before, after sitting there all afternoon, and the workers quit a half hour before their shift was over with just one more lift to go on the trailer. And of course the next shift had to screw around at least a half hour before they do anything. And then if the truck ain't sitting 500 miles away at 7:00 the next morning to unload the truck driver must be a no-good lazy shiftless bum.

I hired a very competent body man one time with the knowlege that he had limited painting skills as a part timer for "extra" money. He worked full time at a paving contractor/company. At the time I had terminated my lead painter and I was doing that departmental workload. When my federal employer started demanding many hours of overtime from me this of course cut my availability substantially, and the workload started backing up. Several times I'd asked this guy to try to relieve me and I would finish up by doing some of the prepwork to which he basically refused with a noticable decrease in his production speed. Citing his abilities in the metal department, I allowed him to stay while I was working till 1:30-2:00am doing the paint work. I noticed profits falling, throughput slowing, and bank balance suffering as everything still had to be paid timely.

When he was given notice Tuesday the paving company was shutting down and Friday was everyones last day, it was amazing how fast that boy could learn to paint!! He also wanted to go full time immediately, (which I granted) and asked if I could pay him "under the table" so he could collect unemployment, (which I denied)! Without his knowlege, I hired a "combination" man, (meaning can function in all areas) to replace him the very next week.

Upon finishing the job assigned, he was terminated, and filed for unemployment against me and the shop. I prevailed due to my testimony, and the timeframe in which he was terminated after changing to full time.

You see, a good portion of the workers haven't enough regards for their own welfare to support those that try to support them. They're just there to "leech".

I have more stories like that also. Heres one I'm fond of: One bodyman I terminated because he refused to install a starter on a car citing that he was a "bodyman, not a mechanic"! This one I'd employed for over a year and terminated him on the spot without a chance to recant. He of course filed an unemployment compensation claim that was challenged, and prevailed upon due to his refusal to perform assigned work.

Heres another for your reading pleasure: I needed a painter once and interviewed several prospective candidates. I interviewed a young man that was laid off because of a disagreement in the quality of repairs he had with managment of his former employer. He stated that he really needed to get working as his unemployment was "running out" Siezing the opportunity to remove someone from this role I thought he would be an asset to the business. Upon settling on this individual that had a growing family, (meaning one in the oven) and was laid off from a very high production shop in Peoria, I offered him the position on a Wednesday if I remember correctly. We were all set to go for a Monday morning start date at 8:00am. When 10:00am came around with no show or phone call, I called him and he stated he was in line at the unemployment office as there was a problem. Going no further with the conversation other than asking him to call with updates, I thought no more about it. The job would wait another day if need be.

Tuesday came and went with no call, update, or answered/returned telephone messages. Wednesday morning, upon answering the telephone he tells me that his unemployment was extended another 90 days and invited me to call back at the end of that timeframe!! I thanked him for his time and much to his chagrin, called the unemployment office informing them of this, gave them contact information and transcripts of our interview, copies of our contract for employment, and the extension was cancelled. Now he had a predicament, and was not very nice the next time we spoke on the telephone. I understand his wife left him shortly afterward.

I'm not very tolerant of "free loaders".

Rob

[Double L]

Very good point Rob about those who have a job title refusing to do other work. When I was working at my co-op job, I never was assigned a job title. I honestly gave myself the title of laborer cause I washed trucks, did minor service jobs (greasing, checking air pressure, etc) and I did what was asked and didn't question it. Sure there was a few things I didn't feel like doing but I did it anyway. Only reason I was let go was cause the economy was just starting to go into the crapper, they were moving to a new location, and my limited mechanical ability was an issue as well. I wasn't upset about it, hell I was actually kinda glad cause I wanted to focus more on school the rest of my senior year. I told them I was very understanding and I still keep in contact with them to this day. Heck they even told me when I get some driving experience they would let me drive for them.

[other dog]

I get the Farmville Herald newspaper, only printed twice a week on Wednesday and Friday. Every Friday they reprint the front page from 50 years ago. Very interesting to me because sometimes i'll see people that I remember or knew. They also reprint a page from 100 years ago. No pictures then, but it can be interesting at times too.

Ran across these stories this week, one fits right in the "work ethic" topic.

[Underdog]

The ACLU lawyers nowadays would have a field day defending both cases! All the way to the Supreme Court!

[Double L]

That is the way it should be Tom but unfortunately it's not and it's sad, very sad!

[other dog]

The ACLU lawyers nowadays would have a field day defending both cases! All the way to the Supreme Court!

These stories were actually in the Farmville Herald, Dec. 3rd, 1909.