>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 01:10:46 -0500 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Tim Rourke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Historical Context of the Work Ethic D >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Precedence: bulk > > > >The Work Ethic in the Information Age > >Just as the people of the mid-nineteenth century encountered tremendous >cultural and social change with the dawn of the industrial age, the >people of the late twentieth century experienced tremendous cultural and >social shifts with the advent of the information age. Toffler (1980) >likened these times of change to waves washing over the culture, >bringing with it changes in norms and expectations, as well as >uncertainty about the future. > >Since 1956 (Naisbitt, 1984) white-collar workers in technical, >managerial, and clerical positions have outnumbered workers in >blue-collar jobs. Porat (1977), in a study for the U.S. Department of >Commerce, examined over 400 occupations in 201 industries. He determined >that in 1967, the economic contribution of jobs primarily dealing with >production of information, as compared with goods-producing jobs, >accounted for 46% of the GNP and more than 53% of the income earned. >Some jobs in manufacturing and industry also became more technical and >necessitated a higher level of thinking on the job as machines were >interfaced with computers and control systems became more complex. > >Yankelovich and Immerwahr (1984) contrasted the work required of most >people during the industrial age with the work of the information age. >Industrial age jobs were typically low-discretion, required little >decisionmaking, and were analyzed and broken into simple tasks which >required very little thinking or judgement on the part of workers. >Information age jobs, in contrast, were high-discretion and required >considerable thinking and decisionmaking on the part of workers (Miller, >1986). In the workplace characterized by high-discretion, the work ethic >became a much more important construct than it was during the >manipulative era of machines. Maccoby (1988) emphasized the importance, >in this setting, of giving employees authority to make decisions which >would meet the needs of customers as well as support the goals of their >own companies. > >As high-discretion, information age jobs provided opportunities for >greater self-expression by workers, people began to find more >self-fulfillment in their work. Yankelovich and Harmon (1988) reported >that a significant transformation in the meaning of the work ethic >resulted. Throughout history, work had been associated with pain, >sacrifice, and drudgery. The previously mentioned Greek word for work, >ponos, also meant "pain." For the Hebrews as well as for the medieval >Christians, the unpleasantness of work was associated with Divine >punishment for man's sin. The Protestant ethic maintained that work was >a sacrifice that demonstrated moral worthiness, and it stressed the >importance of postponed gratification. With the information age, >however, came work which was perceived as good and rewarding in itself. >Most workers were satisfied with their work and wanted to be successful >in it (Wattenberg, 1984). > >According the Yankelovich and Harmon (1988), the work ethic of the >1980's stressed skill, challenge, autonomy, recognition, and the quality >of work produced. Autonomy was identified as a particularly important >factor in worker satisfaction with their jobs. Motivation to work >involved trust, caring, meaning, self-knowledge, challenge, opportunity >for personal growth, and dignity (Maccoby, 1988; Walton, 1974). Workers >were seeking control over their work and a sense of empowerment and many >information age jobs were conducive to meeting these needs. As a result, >the work ethic was not abandoned during the information age, but was >transformed to a state of relevance not found in most industrial age >occupations. > >Even though the information age was well established by the 1980's and >1990's, not all jobs were high-discretion. Some occupations continued to >consist primarily of manual labor and allowed minimal opportunity for >worker involvement in decisionmaking. In addition, authoritarian forms >of management continued to be utilized and the potential of the work >ethic was wasted. Statistics reported by Yankelovich and Immerwahr >(1984) indicated that by the early 1980's, 43% of the workforce >perceived their jobs as high-discretion and 21% of the workforce >perceived their jobs as low-discretion. The high-discretion workers were >likely to be better educated, to be in white-collar or service jobs, and >to have experienced technological changes in their work. The >low-discretion workers were more likely to be union members, to be in >blue-collar jobs, and to be working in positions characterized by dirt, >noise, and pollution. > > > >The Work Ethic and Empowerment > >As a result of the rapid changes associated with the Information Age >workplace, codified and systematized knowledge not limited to a specific >organizational context was important during the 1980's and 1990's >(Maccoby, 1983). Higher levels of education became necessary along with >skills at solving problems, managing people, and applying the latest >information to the tasks at hand. With increased education, higher >expectations and aspirations for careers emerged. > >Young people, in particular, entering the workforce with high school and >college educations, expected opportunities for advancement (Maccoby, >1983; Sheehy, 1990). They anticipated that talent and hard work would be >the basis for success rather than chance or luck. In essence, >information age workers expected application of a positive work ethic to >result in rewards, and they sometimes became impatient if progress was >not experienced in a relatively short period of time (Sheehy, 1990). > >For workers who acquired positions of supervision or ownership, >motivation to accomplish personal goals through success in the >organization enhanced the expression of work ethic attributes. Barnard >(1938) identified the process of persons in an organization coordinating >their activities to attain common goals as important to the well-being >of the organization. One of the essential elements for this process was >the creation and allocation of satisfaction among individuals (Barnard, >1938). > >Further explanation for organizational behavior was provided by a model >developed by Getzels and Guba (Getzels, 1968). The major elements of the >model were institution, role, and expectation which formed the normative >dimension of activity in a social system; and individual, personality, >and need-disposition which constituted the personal dimension of >activity in a social system (Getzels, 1968). To the extent that a >person's work ethic beliefs influenced personality and need-disposition, >the observed behavior of that individual within the context of the >workplace would be affected. Particularly in the high-discretion >workplace of the information age, role and expectations found within the >workplace would tend to be reinforced by a strong work ethic. > > > >Other Changes in the Workplace > >Besides changes in the jobs people performed, changes in the levels of >education required for those jobs, and changes in the extent to which >people were given control or empowerment in their work, the workforce of >the 1980's and 1990's reflected a larger number of women and a reduced >number of workers older than 65. Changes in gender and age of workers >had a significant impact on the culture of the later twentieth century >and influenced the pattern of work related norms such as the work ethic. > > >Rodgers (1978) told of the growing restlessness of women in the late >1800's and the early 1900's. As the economic center of society was moved >out of the home or workshop and into the factory, women were left >behind. Some women became operatives in textile mills, office workers, >or salesclerks, and increased numbers were employed as teachers >(Sawhill, 1974). Women comprised a relatively small percentage of the >workforce, however, and their wages were about half that of men. Those >who labored at housework and child-rearing received no pay at all and >often were afforded little respect or appreciation for what they did. > >It was not until World War II and the years following that women began >to enter the workplace in great numbers. In 1900 women made up 18% of >the nation's workforce, but by 1947 they comprised 28% of the workforce >(Levitan & Johnson, 1983). By 1980 42.5% of the nation's workers were >women (Stencel, 1981). In 1990 the number of women workers was >approaching 50% of the workforce, and Naisbitt and Aburdene (1990) >reported that women held 39.3% of all executive, administrative, and >management jobs. Due to the increase in the number of women working >outside the home, their attitudes about work have become a significant >influence on the work ethic in the contemporary workplace. > >Comparisons of attitudes of men and women in the workplace have shown >that men tended to be more concerned with earning a good income, having >freedom from close supervision, having leadership opportunities, and >having a job that enhanced their social status. Women were inclined to >seek job characteristics which allowed them to help others, to be >original and creative, to progress steadily in their work, and to work >with people rather than things (Lyson, 1984). Women, more than men, also >tended to seek personal benefits such as enjoyment, pride, fulfillment, >and personal challenge (Bridges, 1989). > >Another trend which shaped the workforce of the later twentieth century >was an increase in the number of older workers who retired from their >jobs. Statistics reported by Quinn (1983) showed that in 1950, persons >65 years old and older comprised 45.8% of the workforce as compared to >18.4% in 1981. Part of this trend can be explained by the continued >shift away from agriculture and self-employment--occupations which >traditionally had high older worker participation rates. In addition, >increased provision for retirement income, as a result of pensions or >other retirement plans, has removed the financial burden which >necessitated work for many older adults in the past. > >Deans (1972) noted a trend on the part of younger workers to view work >differently than older workers. He found less acceptance, among young >people entering the workforce, of the concept that hard work was a >virtue and a duty and less upward striving by young workers compared to >that of their parents and grandparents. Yankelovich (1981) reported >findings which contradicted the view that younger workers were less >committed to the work ethic, but he did find a decline in belief that >hard work would pay off. This was a significant shift because pay and >"getting ahead" were the primary incentives management used to encourage >productivity during the industrial age. If economic reward had lost its >ability to motivate workers, then productivity could be expected to de >cline, in the absence of some other reason for working hard >(Yankelovich, 1981). Within this context, the work ethic, and a >management style which unfettered it, was a significant factor for >maintaining and increasing performance. >
