Work Ethic
Is a person's work ethic related to class, gender and education? Or is it role modeled after poor or inspiring example?
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Is a person's work ethic related to class, gender and education? Or is it role modeled after poor or inspiring example?
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Complex issue
That's a really difficult question you pose, since work ethic is more a moral value than a measurable phenomenon. It expresses the moral virtues of hard work, which is not constant in time and diverse within different cultures.
A well known form of work ethic is the purtian one where constant work is perceived as leading to personal salvation. Paving the way for the conservative economic ideology that proclaims those who work hard will eventually be rewarded, while those that don't are only allowed the fruit of their bad labour.
Japan and other East Asian countries have their own notions of work ethics, usually more based on communal notions and a strong emphasis on a shame culture.
Work ethics don't always lead to higher productivity. In extreme cases work ethics have a counter productive effect, leading to people spending enormous amounts of time at the work-place, with all detrimental effects to home-life, while time spent at work is used highly inefficient. Examples of this are the Japanese system, but also Wall street and the City of London are examples of places where people are very involved with the work-place (looking good, while watching the another), but actual productivity figures are not all that high.
Life Lesson
Isn't this attitude towards work typically taught by a person's parents?
Family values
I'd say work ethics is a cultural phenomenon and since parents are usually the first and most prominent purveyers of cultural values, they will most certainly have the strongest influence on a persons ideas around work-ethics. Schools and social environment have their influence too, especially if there is a strong discrepancy with the home situation, which can be the case with immigrants and members of sects.
Making it personal...
In my case, my a dad was very hard-working. He had to be. Right after high-school he went to Vietnam; after that he came home got married had a family and before he knew it, he had to work more jobs than he had kids, just to keep his house for his wife and kids "happy". My a mother came from a more affluent life-style and I remember her telling me she was raised during an era where girls went to school to get their "R.N"'s or their "Mrs."'s
Growing-up I saw my dad always working hard... yet, when he'd take breaks, he'd have fun with his friends. They'd laugh, tell jokes, make fun of one another... it was always so much fun being around them. Work to my dad was something you had to do, so it got done, and it got done right the first time.
My mother was different.
For her, work was a chore, and it gave her reason to complain.
Why do you suppose there can be such a difference in attitude towards work?
Work as a Chore
I guess a difference in child rearing could contribute to this. If a child is raised by parents who enjoy building a family, work is probably more often seen as something that can be enjoyable. If all child rearing is seen as a sacrifice, it can easily lead to viewing work as a chore.
Doers and Takers
My dad used to say the world is made of two types of people: Doers and Takers. The Doers aren't afraid to get up and try something new. They aren't thrown by failure and they don't let set-backs keep them down. Takers let others do the work for them. They make excuses for their laziness and they complain that more needs to be done to help them rise above the "life injustice" they have been served. For some reason, "Takers" believe Life owes them something.
I think the key influence to Doing or Taking is the motivation. I see it as a person is is either doing something for another, or taking for oneself.
In terms of adoption, I wonder how many adoptive parents are doing it for the child, versus doing it for themselves.
Fit
OMG, that doesn't leave much room to breathe, either being a doer or a taker. Your dad obviously didn't leave much room to take, if those were the options, but I digress. I wonder how many parents are doing it for themselves instead of for the kids anyway. How many children get born because of grandmother wishes, how many children are raised to fulfll there parents needs? People fuck up children by the dozen.
And that's the double whammy of adoption I believe. Most other kids had it just as bad and some even much worse, but still I looked at their family life with envy, because they seemed to fit. I don't know if this makes any sense. I shouldn't think so much.
Choice?
Choice?
What choice or options does a woman have anyway, when it comes to her body and pregnancy? There's abortion or birth. It's why I stay clear from any guy with a loaded gun (if ya know what I mean. )
It's a shame so many grown-up kids end-up living to please their elderly parents. That only hurts another generation of kids, don't you think so?
Puritanical Thinking
My father, had a "no pain no gain" philosophy" towards work and sacrifice and especially towards childbirth and motherhood in my family. In fact, I would even go so far as to say many priests at the time of the Closed Era of Adoption shared that same philosophy. Maybe they saw pain as a result of cleansing sacrifice, and that was good for the the sin of sex without marriage. I don't know.
A Creed of Greed?
Cast your vote
12 commandements, 12 committments, hell, I'll take $12/hr if the goverment's paying. [See minimum wage rates in Unites States] But that ain't happening any time soon.
How's this for campaign promise:
In remarks today at an adoption center in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Mayor Rudy Giuliani will speak about his commitment to increasing adoptions and decreasing abortions, part of his 12 Commitments to the American People.
Part of the plan includes promoting adoption as a responsible and rewarding choice. He proposes simplifying the adoption process...
The Mayor also commits to reducing abortions by encouraging informed decisions that advance a culture of life.
During his time as mayor, abortions in the city fell 16.8%, according to the state Office of Vital Statistics.
At the same time, he boosted adoptions in his eight years by some 133%, as compared with the eight years before he arrived, city statistics show.
Giuliani needs to hope that this type of talk will satisfy religious conservatives.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/208157.aspx
All I have to say is when it comes to profit yields and percentage margins, buyer's and voters beware of this govermental pitch and sales' gimic.
Where's the bar?
Minimum wages
That's an interesting find, Neophyte. Seeing your figures for minimum wages in the USA, I went to look for figures in my own country(the Netherlands) and came accross figures of several European countries:
source: European Union website
The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial common reference currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus one PPS buys the same volume of goods/services in all countries.
This table clearly shows there is a top group with minimum wages above $1,500/month. This group is larger than this list, countries like Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland also belong to this top group.
The USA, though one of the richest countries in the word, doesn't compare well to European countries of equal wealth when it comes to social factors. Minimum wages are low, poverty rates are relatively high, primary education levels lag. At the same time the cost for health care are much higher. I've looked up several figures from the world health organization and will compile them into something readable soon.
Single and stupid
Ok... I don't get it.
How does a single-mom keep her baby these days? Or is that how adoption agencies are making their money these days?
How much does a baby sell for these days in the US or else-where; and are foster-kids cheaper?