Recently (July 19, 2010) in a nationally syndicated newspaper column (dear abby [by JeannePhillips]) there was a discussion about the work ethic of today’s employees. The debate was proud; with the majority of respondents of the opinion that today’s employees don’t work as hard. One writer said: “Years ago, people worked hard for their money. Now, they barely work.”
Of course, only those who have been in the workforce for a reasonably long career would have the employment history to make an informed opinion based on personal experience. And sometimes memory is selective (eg, “walk 10 miles in the snow,” “work from dawn to dusk”). However, it seemed that “old timers” thought people worked “really hard”, “in the past”, while younger employees felt their current jobs were more demanding.
The nature of work has changed
The nature of work and the types of jobs have changed dramatically in recent decades. While we were a manufacturing economy, we have become a post-industrial service economy; some would say a post-service information economy. This transition has occurred in a relatively short period of time. Workers recruited in factories, mines, lumberyards, etc. perform physically demanding, often dangerous jobs. Technology, of course, has eliminated and/or made many of these jobs simpler and safer. Backbreaking and physically debilitating work is all but relegated to the dustbin of history in this country.
Instead of a physically demanding job, we now have mentally demanding jobs. This makes the comparison challenging, perhaps impossible. Who works harder, the guy shoveling coal or the operator of the computerized coal mining equipment?
employees have changed
Surveys of “Generation Y” (post-baby boom) workers show that these workers expect job satisfaction and work-life balance. They don’t have the same level of employee loyalty that previous generations demonstrated, and will “drop out” if they feel they are being treated unfairly. They have grown up in a time of prosperity and, despite the recent economic downturn, they don’t feel the need to take just any job. Many employees simply won’t put up with the conditions their parents and grandparents endured.
Acting busy is not the same as being busy.
Technology has made it easier to fool your boss into thinking you’re busy working on company business. Surfing the net may seem business related. Computers can be programmed to email colleagues in the middle of the night. while you’re fast asleep. These and similar activities are called “Cyberloafing.” (New York TimesJan. 23, 2009)
Others do “heavy lifting” that may not be productive from their employer’s point of view. Desk jobs are easier to fake than manual labor.
Unionization has an impact
Unionized workers are often protected from disciplinary action when they loaf. Fairly or unfairly, unions are obligated to represent and protect their members. Increasingly, unions (especially SEIU [Services Employees International Union] They are organizing the service sector.
The “thinking” job can be more stressful
Some employees are too stressed to be vigilant or productive. Recent studies of: National Life of the Northwest indicates that 40% of workers report that their work is “very or extremely stressful”, the Family and Work Institute The results indicate that 26% are “often or very often exhausted or stressed” and, Yale UniversityThe study by reports that 29% are “quite a bit or extremely stressed at work.” (As reported by: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh, [publication 99-101]).
And the answer is…
No one knows if people are working harder today than their counterparts in the past. The nature of the jobs defies meaningful comparison. Additionally, job expectations for professionals and managers have broadened, so there is little downtime. Even if employees are working “normal” hours, they are typically on call most or all of the time. So, as a consequence of technologies, they are “tied” to the office (by computers and cell phones) 24/7. And, the debate continues.