Work ethic:

 A commitment to the value and importance of hard work

Protestant work ethic (PWE)
 Devised by German sociologist Max Weber (1905) – partial explanation for
the origin of capitalism
 Argued that Protestantism advocated for the practice of values such as
thrift, hard work sobriety, and prudence
 People were expected to work hard in order to serve and glorify God.
 Spence (1985) – this view has been secularized and transmuted into a
belief in the intrinsic rewards of hard work rather than its transcendental
value
 People who believe in PWE tend to be achievement and success oriented
 Stress the need for efficacy and practicality, tend to be anti-leisure
 Conservative and conscious about wasting time, energy, and money
 PWE-believing parents socialize their children by rewarding them for
success, independent rational behaviour, and postponement of gratification
 They therefore become economically successful, thus explaining the
relationship between PWE and economic growth
McClelland (1960) on research
 Theory was that PWE ideas and values determine child rearing practices
of independence, delays of gratification and mastery training, which in
turn leads children to acquiring strong achievement motivation. These
high achievers in turn become successful entrepreneurs and create an
expansion of business
 Significant positive correlation between achievement motivation and
economic development in 40 countries
 Transformed the concept of work ethic to achievement motivation(nAch)
 This construct refers to the dynamic strivings of aspiration, effort, and
persistence which are thought to be roused when a person expects that
his or her task performance will be evaluated by others.
 Fyans et al (1983) – 30 cultures, strong relationship between PWE and
achievement
Review of experimental studies by Furnham (1990)
 Believers tend to be competitive, eager to have equitable rather than
equal rewards, have a tendency towards workaholism, and are able to
tolerate tedious jobs
 Also shown to be good predictors of leisure-time and retirement activity,
as well as vocational preference and saving of money
 Suggests that literature on protestant work ethic is inconsistent – PWE
does not appear to be the major determinant of job satisfaction
o Though it does appear to predict certain qualitative and
quantitative aspects of work behaviour
o PWE beliefs tend to be associated with higher-order needs (self-
esteem and self actualization)
o Tend to blame the individuals for unemployment
Protestant work ethic and work
  Blood (1969) – found that the more a worker agreed with the ideals of the
PWE, the more he/she will be satisfied in his/her paid work life and in
general
 Just world hypothesis – idea that the world is fair and individuals get
what they deserve
 Aldag and Brief (1975) used the same scale, found that pro-Protestant
scale was positively correlated with internal work motivation and growth
satisfaction as well as higher-order need strength
Although some commentators believe PWE is in terminal decline, there is
evidence that it is alive and well, although transformed in character
Miller, Woehr, & Hudspeth (2002)
 Developed a new (and improved) multidimensional work ethic profile
 65-item questionnaire measuring seven conceptually and empirically
distinct facets of work ethic, including things such as self-reliance, delay
of gratification, and attitudes to wasted time
 Argue that this measure is conceptually grounded in the original
weberian construct, and appropriate for use today and across different
religions
 Reliable and valid – predicts supervisory ratings of performance
 Related but differentiable from conscientiousness, need for achievement,
job satisfaction, job involvement organizational commitment
 Self-reliance, leisure, and delay of gratification related significantly to
overall performance rating by supervisors
Generational differences in work ethic? Zabel et al (2016)
 Compiled 105 studies that provide an average sample age and work ethic
score
 Several hierarchical regressions were applied, but none found an effect of
generational cohort on work ethic endorsement
 There was a main effect of sample type – industry samples had higher
work ethic than student samples
 So maybe populational differences, but not generational
 Sullivan et al (2009) – Generation X desired more balance than Baby
Boomers
 Twenge et al (2010) found that Millenials seek freedom and balance more
so than Generation X and Generation X seek more than Baby Boomers
o Same trend found for valuing leisure
 Difference in values, and hence different definitions of what constitutes
meaningful work
 Qualitative study by Weeks and Schaffert (2017) – does meaningful work
differ?
o Millennials: emphasized nice coworkers, serving others, seeing
lives improved, personal happiness
o Baby Boomers: Success, reaching personal goals, helping others
achieve goals
More differences in work ethic
 Pogson et al (2003) – differences in work ethic across career stages,
finding that early-career respondents scored higher on some dimensions
(hard work and delayed gratification)
  Where later career participants scored higher on other dimensions
(morality/ethics, wasted time, leisure)
 Van Ness et al (2010) – differences between graduating college students
and experienced professionals – groups differed on several dimensions of
work ethic, but not on overall levels
Cross-cultural differences in work ethic
 Furnham & Muhiudeen (1984) – group of Malaysian adults had
significantly stronger PWE beliefs than matched British sample
 Ma (1986) – for Taiwanese, PWE scores were not related to religious
affiliation
 Furnham (1993) – measured PWE values in 13 countries and results
showed that participants from richer, First World countries tended to
have lower scores than those from Third World countries
 Niles (1993) – found that Sri Lankans had as strong a work ethic as
Australians had
 Ali (1988) – Arab executives had higher PWE than their Scandinavian and
American counterparts
 Moran (1990) – Irish display fatalistic view towards life. Measured levels
of fatalism, allegiance to work ethic, achievement motivation. Irish
workers had lower achievement motivation, and irish students had lower
work ethic, achievement motivation, and higher levels of fatalism. Irish –
more expenditure on lottery
In what ways has the Protestant Work Ethic informed our understanding of
organizational behaviour?

Introduction
 Work ethic is defined as a set of beliefs and attitudes reflecting the value
of work (Miller, 2002)
 Fundamental to our understanding of work ethic today are the values
highlighted by the protestant Work Ethic (Weber, 1905), which
emphasize success through a commitment to hard work.
 The PWE was hypothesized to be foundational for the rise of capitalism
and resulting economic growth, and has been instrumental in informing
our understanding of work ethic today.
 This essay will discuss the influence of PWE in the modern-day study of
work ethic, how work ethic has changed over time, and its implications
for personnel selection/workplace reform.
P1: What is PWE? How is it measured? What is it related to? How is it related to
work outcomes?
 PWE was devised by German sociologist Max Weber (1905) – who argued
that Protestantism advocated for the practice of values such as thrift, hard
work, sobriety, and prudence, and that these translated into work-related
attitudes.
 Although stemming from Protestant values, this view has been secularized
and transmuted into a belief in the intrinsic rewards of hard work rather
than its transcendental value (Spence, 1985).
 Indeed, PWE has been found across many cultures and Ma (1986) found
that PWE was not related to religious affiliation in a Taiwanese population.
Moreover, work ethic has become a societal construct, emphasizing hard
work and diligence over leisure and time-wasting.
 The MDWEP was developed by Miller, Woehr, & Hudspeth (2002) to
encapsulate the values derived from Weber’s PWE in a 65-item
questionnaire. They argued that this measure was conceptually grounded
in the original Weberian construct and appropriate for use today and
across different religions, and differentiable from conscientiousness, need
for achievement, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational
commitment.
 Importantly, highly reliable and three of the factors (self reliance, leisure,
and delay of gratification) related significantly to overall performance
ratings by supervisors, suggesting that high work ethic translates to
behaviour.
P2: How is PWE related to work outcomes?
 Useful in predicting work outcomes.
 Blood (1969) – found that the more a worker agreed with the ideals of the
PWE, the more he/she will be satisfied in his/her paid work life and in
general
 Aldag and Brief (1975) used the same scale, found that pro-Protestant
scale was positively correlated with internal work motivation and growth
satisfaction as well as higher-order need strength. More likely to believe
in a just-world
  Mental health: Ghorbani, Pourhosein, and Ghobadi (2018) – work ethic
was positively correlated with self-esteem and life satisfaction and
negatively correlated with stress and anxiety.
 Not just for the employee – Salehi (2017) also found that managers who
had high levels of work ethic were perceived as more effective
 Suggests that high levels of WE are positive in general
P3: The downside: implications for unemployment
 However, the implications for this are not all positive.
 In contrary to those who are employed, and benefit from greater life
satisfaction and happiness, those who are unemployed are at risk for
greater suffering.
 Van Hoorn & Maseland (2013) – Protestants are hurt more by
unemployment than people from other denominations are
o People living in protestant societies are hurt more by
unemployment than others are
o Extensive checks show that effects indeed derive from an intrinsic
appreciation of work
 Sage (2018) – since societies glorify employment as a signifier of identity
and status, it is unsurprising that those without employment suffer
o Subscription to work ethic is negatively associated with wellbeing
amongst unemployed people
o Unemployed people with weaker work ethic have significantly
higher life satisfaction than those with high work ethic.
o Article concludes that the most effective way of dealing with the
deleterious effects of unemployment is to challenge the centrality
of employment in contemporary societies

P4: How has it changed over time?

 Despite these potential downsides, a strong work ethic is suggested to be
healthy for a range of psychological benefits. That being said, it has been
argued that work ethic is on the decline.
 Hira (2007) – older people complain that younger generation are entitled,
difficult to interact with, and overly service-focused
 For example, there is greater turnover in Millennials (Tschantz, 2016).
 Family and work institute (2005) – Millennials and Gen Xers do not work
less hours than baby boomers at the same age
 Zabel et al (2016) – compiled 105 studies that provide an average sample
age and work ethic score
 Several hierarchical regressions were applied, but none found an effect of
generational cohort on work ethic endorsement
 There was a main effect of sample type – industry samples had higher
work ethic than student samples.

 Fyans et al (1983) – 30 cultures, strong relationship between PWE and
achievement
 Moran (1990) – Irish display fatalistic view towards life. Measured levels
of fatalism, allegiance to work ethic, achievement motivation. Irish
workers had lower achievement motivation, and irish students had lower
 work ethic, achievement motivation, and higher levels of fatalism. Irish –
more expenditure on lottery
 Furnham & Muhiudeen (1984) – group of Malaysian adults had
significantly stronger PWE beliefs than matched British sample
 Ma (1986) – for Taiwanese, PWE scores were not related to religious
affiliation
 Furnham (1993) – measured PWE values in 13 countries and results
showed that participants from richer, First World countries tended to
have lower scores than those from Third World countries
 Niles (1993) – found that Sri Lankans had as strong a work ethic as
Australians had
 Ali (1988) – Arab executives had higher PWE than their Scandinavian and
American counterparts
P3: What are the implications for workplace reform?
 Therefore, important to structure workplace such that it meets the
demands as dictated by work ethic of millennials
 Individuals with low work ethic – leads to greater turnover (Smith, 2018)
 Tschantz (2016) – Job satisfaction has been shown to increase motivation
and productivity and reduce turnover.
 Kim (2015) – individuals who are less stressed are less likely to leave an
organization