Richelle Mah

Ms. Maynard

6/25/17

Work Ethics

After someone snags a job that they have been pining for, it can be inferred that they

would do anything and everything to keep that job. This is the time when work ethics enters the

picture, will they stay true to their morals even if it is at the expense of their career? Work ethic

is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as a belief in work as a moral good,a set of values

centered on the importance of doing work and reflected especially in a desire or determination to

work hard1. Inevitably, the persons work ethic will determine their actions in response to a

situation where they can either do bad or good. However, work ethic is defined differently by

various people, who have various jobs, in various career pathways. In order to research the

accuracy of my prediction, I conducted several interviews with various employees about their

opinions on work ethics.

The first person I interviewed is named Jovita Mah. She has been working for Sutter

Health, as a mammography technologist, for over 25 years at their Oakland and Lafayette

locations. Jovitas definition of work ethics is the motive behind someones decisions or actions.

She elaborated on her definition by adding how much of an impact that ones work ethic has on

the type of work that they can produce. For instance, if someone were to possess a bad work

ethic which could be exemplified by being motivated to only do quality work when others are

watching, the type of work they produce will be inconsistent and faulty as a result of their work

ethic.
 Jovita firmly believes that her work ethics are good because she is never tempted to

compromise the privacy of her patients. With her profession being in the medical field, it is

inevitable for there to be sensitive information available to her in order for her to properly do her

job. If she possessed bad work ethics, she can easily share the private information of the patients

she sees every day. However, instead of doing this, she makes sure to not mention any of the

patients she sees and thus proves her good work ethic. She does believe that she can improve her

work ethics by complaining less about her boss behind their back. Jovita believes that students

currently graduating from high school do not have good work ethics because teens are prone to

being defiant to rules and are not used to being bond to a set of strict instructions that they must

follow.

The next person I interviewed is named Joshua Marin. He has been working for Gen

Korean Barbeque for a total of four months as a food runner. Joshua believes that work ethics is

defined as conducting yourself at work in a manner that will lead you to be successful while

maintaining a friendly atmosphere with other employees. He believes that he has good work

ethics due to the fact that he focuses on doing his job properly and effectively while also helping

other employees whenever he can. One way that he thinks that he can improve upon his work

ethics would be to communicate better with other employees and to be more knowledgeable

about the company he is working for as a whole.

In Joshuas opinion, newly graduated high school students possess bad work ethics. He

believes this is the case because most teens are not taught in an average school curriculum the

importance of work ethics. He acknowledges that they are taught other subjects and participate in

extracurricular activities, however, he argues that this does not compensate for the lack of
experience and knowledge that they would have about the work place. Joshua emphasized how

the unawareness of teens about the realities of the workplace lead to them entering it with

unrealistic expectations. He believes that these unrealistic expectations lead to them being fired

easily, in comparison to other employees.

The last person I interviewed is names Jocelle Bautista. She has been newly hired by

Claires as a sales associate. Jocelle's definition of work ethics is making good decisions, even if

no one knows about them. She believes that work ethics are proven most when there is no one

watching because that is when someones true colors are revealed. She believes that she has good

work ethics since she takes the initiative to make sure that she is constantly productive whenever

she is working. For example, when there are no customers in store and she is simply standing by

a stand, she will do her best to ask if other employees would like help in what they are doing.

Jocelle thinks that she can improve her work ethics by being more authentic and honest with

customers when they ask about products that the store carries, without disrespecting the

company.

Jocelle would disagree with the other interviewees about high school graduates

possessing bad work ethics. She instead believes that since they lack experience, they are all the

more motivated to prove to their employer that they are a quality employee. Jocelle argues that

since the new graduates are desperate for jobs, they would not do anything to make themselves

look disappointing before the eyes of their employer. She thinks also that because high school

graduates are young, they are less likely to do things to reveal bad work ethics since they do not

know enough about them to purposefully do those things.

 To me, work ethics are the values that one has, which dictates how they carry themselves

in all kinds of situations. My work ethics are good because I dislike being a dishonest person.

Thus, I would not do something to make myself look better than I deserve because I know I am

being untruthful. I believe that honesty is a large part of who I am, thus I would not want to

change who I am because I am trying to keep a job. My work ethics can be improved in regards

to how I am at times embarrassed to acknowledge my mistakes. I believe that students my age

possess bad work ethics because they do not know enough about how to handle themselves

appropriately in a professional environment.

Through this process, I learned that work ethics can be easily revealed in situations where

it is easier for one to lie. It also confirmed my assumption that most adults conclude that teens do

not possess a good work ethic due to their lack of experience and lack of trust. Although I

believe there are teens out there who possess the maturity to handle themselves properly in the

workplace and maintain a good work ethic purely because they know that that is the right thing

to do. I hope that through this experience I will all the more be motivated to uphold good work

ethics when I have the opportunity to enter a workplace.

 Works Cited
1
"Work Ethic." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 26 June 2017.

Contact Information

Jovita Mah: Cell - (510) 593-5105

Joshua Marin: Cell - (408) 466-7676

Jocelle Bautista: Cell - (510) 816-4696