Work ethic

What is a work ethic?
Work ethics refer to an ethos and the values and mores based on it which place emphasis on hard work and diligence. The role of work ethics and how they intermesh with human socioeconomic life are often extremely flexible and nebulous, but it is generally agreed that work ethics govern not merely how we view work, the values we associate with it, but also (in contemporary circumstances) as a code of conduct which governs how we act in interact at the workplace. Work ethics can also be said to dictate the relationship of work and economic activity in relationship to personal life.

The Western world
The concept of work ethics seems to be a relatively modern development as in general, people generally accept that we need only do so much as what is needed, and are reluctant to work harder to achieve more than what is required. This has had been the prevailing belief ever since the dawn of history, although it has always been generally agreed upon that industriousness is a virtue. Aristotle always felt that all work and property accumulation had to achieve was to furnish the means to a useful end, and condemned ‘excessive’ accumulation of wealth as ‘unnatural’ in the Politics (Book I). In contrast, the prosperity theology of the Lutheran Church declared unlimited accumulation of wealth as permitted as wealth was seen as a reward to humans by Providence for good work. For the Lutherans, individual effort and gain were seen as favour from God.

Work ethics in Asia
In Asia, the heritage of Oriental religions and Confucianism resulted in a different mix of traditions that would coalesce into a different work ethic emphasising cooperation, trust, and harmony. The most visible and modern of the so-called Asian work ethic would appear in Japan in the form of the pre-war zaibatsu and later on, the post-war keiretsu involving collaboration between civil servants, finance and the private sector.

Is a work ethic important, and does it help?
Work ethics of late have become an extremely controversial topic, especially in the post-modern world. In the light of the environmentalist movement and the many corporate scandals which have appeared, the relevance of the work ethic in post-modern society and the economy time and again have been questioned as well. Sceptics of the viability of a work ethic’s role often stress that because of the changes we encounter in this post-Fordist world, traditional work ethics of past decades (ie seeing work and cooperation as beneficial) simply do not work. For many white-collar workers, flexibility at work and a desire for high mobility have resulted in a mercenary and cynical attitude towards work and relations with other people, as the end of the Cold War and the triumph of free trade have witnessed work ethics being supplanted by consumer ethics as the prevailing discourse in society’s relationship with work. Conservatives argue that work ethics still matter and are important not just for the workplace, but for nations and the planet in general.