Work ethic

[bilgerat]

What happened to it ?

I've been doing work at an Amtrak maitenence yard for a couple of days now. This is a facility that performs track inspection and repairs. I was talking with one of the shop foreman and the subject of jobs came up. He told me they have a bunch of new hires ready to train on the track maitenence machines. Then he said a bunch of guys quit before starting when they found out the hours, which are primarily nights and weekends when rail traffic is slowest.

I can't figure that out. In the worst economy in decades and record unemployment, people still turn down work. This is no low paying job and the benefits aren't too shabby either.

Are we really that soft ?

[soccplayer07]

well said.

[Root beer]

Are we really that soft ?

Yup. I'm not going make a paragraph from my view, but yup.

[quanjig]

When you say "new hires" do you mean generation "flab"?  Kids that are just out of college, newly weened from their xbox and mommy's house? Or possibly high school kids that think they should be handed everything on a silver plate?

[KYbass1276]

Well I guess people today don't want to work through the ranks to get to the top they just want to start at the top.   

My saying is you have to learn to crawl before you walk.  I'm sure one day they will look back and say wow I really wish I would have stuck with that job. 

[Stasher1]

Don't be so quick to assume laziness is the reason they decided not to take the job. I have three kids, a full-time day job, and a full course load of evening/night classes. Personally, I'd turn down any job offer that would interfere with my education, as it effects not only my future, but the future of my children as well. Hell, I've been thinking about quitting my job so I can devote more time to my school work.

It's also entirely possible that they're single parents of small children. Daycare isn't all that difficult to find, but who are you going to call to watch your kids while you're working all night?

It's unfair to make judgements about people's work ethics without knowing their situation(s).

[grimlin]

People like that are the reason i am high up on seniority list.

Most new guys don't last one week on my machine....I've been doing it for 6 1/2 years.All the Blood,sweat,oil and grease.  ;D

Even worst I'm on second shift.....right smack in the middle of the day.

[SirSnookalot]

I owned a company 30 years, in addition several other companies during that period as well.  Being involved primarily with industry I have been in 100's of plants and auto factories.  Despite any propaganda I've heard about the American worker being the best...........it ain't so !  I have seen workers while visiting other countries and frankly I was very impressed.

Honestly the best workers we ever had were immigrants, legal of course.  I don't think this is the right forum to discuss where these people come from or the countries I have visited, could be construed as political.

[grimlin]

I owned a company 30 years, in addition several other companies during that period as well. Being involved primarily with industry I have been in 100's of plants and auto factories. Despite any propaganda I've heard about the American worker being the best...........it ain't so ! I have seen workers while visiting other countries and frankly I was very impressed.

Honestly the best workers we ever had were immigrants, legal of course. I don't think this is the right forum to discuss where these people come from or the countries I have visited, could be construed as political.

That's a dangerous thing to say my friend....very dangerous.I wouldn't go saying that out loud.Specially around me in person.  >

I'm going to disagree on immigrants being the better workers.....I've worked in enough low income jobs where most of these people(immigrants) seem to occupy and one word sums them up for me "LAZY!" with a capitol L.....

I work on a shift with Arabic men and they ain't any better either....They abuse the heck out of acting like they don't understand something when they do.

I always find myself working twice as hard as everybody else trying to make up for the guy who's acting dumb. > 

[SirSnookalot]

I stand by what I said, by enlarge workers tend to over rate themselves but there are always exceptions. Quality control for example was very poor in this country until jobs were in jeopardy, then in vastly improved, amazing !  Much of had to do with management but the blame can't be totally put on them, labor had a big hand as well.

As far as my companies went I never fired or laid off anyone, you had the job for life or as long as the company was in business.  If I recall you are in the slitting business, I bought a small slitting co in Oak Park out of bankruptcy(one of scrap customers)only 1 60" line, closed it down 3 years later and got my employees new jobs with a slitter I knew on the east east side off Groesbeck.

[Gone_Phishin]

It all points to the parents.  The 'we want to be your friends' style of parenting has backfired big-time. 

Unfortunately we are left with millions of people who have had everything done for them their entire lives.  The 'everyone wins' mentality has ruined our society.  Just wait, it will only get worse.

[bassfisherjk]

Answer to Bilgerat's question,Yes.I have nothing else to add.

[Catt]

It all points to the parents. The 'we want to be your friends' style of parenting has backfired big-time.

Unfortunately we are left with millions of people who have had everything done for them their entire lives. The 'everyone wins' mentality has ruined our society. Just wait, it will only get worse.

Bingo 

[bassnleo]

Gotta jump in here..

I also have seen the same issues with new officers. We hire them, TELL THEM that they WILL NOT have steady weekends off for numerous years, yet they still accept the job. THEN, after a few months they begin to whine and complain about not having weekends off, some quit. QUIT? ARE YOU FREEKIN KIDDING ME? Who quits a good paying full time job with benefits this day and age?

Sorry but an all too common thingy here and I just don't stand for the whining and complaining, maybe that's why they don't do it around me :?

EARN IT MAN!

[Boogey Man]

In my line of work I see a lot of people who could work but won't, they've figured out a way to "beat the system". Me, I've got a mortgage and bills to pay and if I lost my job I'd take any job I could find. I find little things like electricity and a roof over my head convenient

[firefightn15]

Agreed, generally work ethic is in the toilet. I won't label a particular generation because I see people of all ages workin' and I have high school kids coming in for me and doing their jobs much better than older full time employees. I think the blame for poor work ethic can be accepted by society in general, whether it's parenting, industry, government, or our educational institution.

Stasher1, if you can let a job go in lieu of schooling more power to you; I mean that sincerely. Where I live this is largely impossible with our current economy. Every one I know, including myself who is fortunate to have work is doing their level best and keeping their nose to the grindstone trying to keep a job. Right now even that isn't enough to guarantee a job is there for you.

[Hemi6677]

This is very much a hot topic with me right now. I'm 33 yrs old and have been at my current employer 10 years. I began here working as a temporary in a parts kitting department, got hired full time moving to a forklift and unloading steel parts trucks, kept applying for jobs internally and moved into a QMS position as a document control specialist and ISO auditor. Finally worked my way into our IT department as a software system and SAP security engineer. But, next Monday our company is going to downsize again and 100 of our 200 salary employees are going to be let go because production is a 1/3 of what it had been and the industry is down all across the globe.

Yet while I sit here at lunch typing this I have a group sitting next to me that we pay (basically like contractors but they work for our company... makes a lot of sense huh?) that has very little management supervision plus has temporary associates working for them. They come to work late, take longer then normal lunches, leave early, surf the internet all day or just don't show up for work yet have no worries of being fired, yet when they are criticized for not getting things done they complain and moan that they have to much to do!

Definitely makes me wonder how upper Management sees how things are really going at times.

[firefightn15]

I realize this is a bit off topic but Hemi just reminded me of another thought.  Why do entities, private, government or otherwise, consistantly hire consulting firms for $GGGs when a lot of the time the leg work can be done internally by t he end users.

Sorry guys, back on topic.......

[BUCKEYEone]

Agreed, generally work ethic is in the toilet. I won't label a particular generation because I see people of all ages workin' and I have high school kids coming in for me and doing their jobs much better than older full time employees. I think the blame for poor work ethic can be accepted by society in general, whether it's parenting, industry, government, or our educational institution.

Stasher1, if you can let a job go in lieu of schooling more power to you; I mean that sincerely. Where I live this is largely impossible with our current economy. Every one I know, including myself who is fortunate to have work is doing their level best and keeping their nose to the grindstone trying to keep a job. Right now even that isn't enough to guarantee a job is there for you.

Thank you showing that those with poor work ethics are of varying ages. It is easy to blame a generation when the fault actually lies in workers of all ages. I was recently FIRED from a job by a boss who found it in her best interest to place blame on me for an error she made. As a result, I, the younger and harder working employee is without a job all of a sudden. I'm 29, and while I do see slackers younger than me, I also see quite a few that are older and still aren't worth their paychecks but keep their jobs because of seniority. If you ask me, seniority is a crock. I hated it in the military and in the civilian workforce. Just because someone has been half-a$ing their job for years does not make them any more qualified than those who have less seniority.

Work ethic is definitely on the decline across the board. Too many people doing the bare minimum to keep their jobs and not worrying about actually DOING what they are paid to do. My .02

[firefightn15]

Buckeye1, at my last job our lead man in plumbing was milking the bull for the last 2 years prior to actually retiring.  I realize this isn't always the case, but for 2 years it put a major strain on us other 3 in that department.  We were relying on help from other departments because our own lead man was MIA most of the time.  Exceptions for an employee with many years in a company vs 2 years of his paid idle time did not = productivity.

[Little Luey]

I"ll try to make sence of my own words here. I find the best workers are for the most part the ones who could loose the most if they lost their jobs. Someone who has a lot to lose, they have cars, house, bills to pay, etc. Like someone already mentioned, if I lose my job I will take any other job even if it ment working nights or weekends and I will put effort in to learning and being productive, no matter what this new job is. I have a home, cars and bills I need to pay.

The people who feel secure even in the event they loose their job have IMO a tendency to not put up with a lot in their jobs. If I was in a situation were I could afford to be jobless and collect unemployment for six months and take my time finding the "right" job it would probably be easy for me to pass on a job if it is not perfect for me.

Need is a great motivator. I had two jobs before and if my family needs me to do it again, I would not hissytate to get a second job again. When I was single I always said never to a second job. I didn't have so many resposabilities; now it is diferent.

A coworker here keeps complaining about no having as many OT as before, but he would leave early some days and he is never on time in the morning. He asked me to help him get a job with my second employer but he never showed up at the Fedex plant, at 4:00am for his interview. I guess it was too early for him.

[grimlin]

Agreed, generally work ethic is in the toilet. I won't label a particular generation because I see people of all ages workin' and I have high school kids coming in for me and doing their jobs much better than older full time employees. I think the blame for poor work ethic can be accepted by society in general, whether it's parenting, industry, government, or our educational institution.

Stasher1, if you can let a job go in lieu of schooling more power to you; I mean that sincerely. Where I live this is largely impossible with our current economy. Every one I know, including myself who is fortunate to have work is doing their level best and keeping their nose to the grindstone trying to keep a job. Right now even that isn't enough to guarantee a job is there for you.

Thank you showing that those with poor work ethics are of varying ages. It is easy to blame a generation when the fault actually lies in workers of all ages. I was recently FIRED from a job by a boss who found it in her best interest to place blame on me for an error she made. As a result, I, the younger and harder working employee is without a job all of a sudden. I'm 29, and while I do see slackers younger than me, I also see quite a few that are older and still aren't worth their paychecks but keep their jobs because of seniority. If you ask me, seniority is a crock. I hated it in the military and in the civilian workforce. Just because someone has been half-a$ing their job for years does not make them any more qualified than those who have less seniority.

Work ethic is definitely on the decline across the board. Too many people doing the bare minimum to keep their jobs and not worrying about actually DOING what they are paid to do. My .02

Seniority is not useless.....If you and another guy sign up for over time work/or a new upper job position,you both have same experience,but you've been there one year longer with the company than he is.....common sense is you get the overtime work/job position first(right?).That's how seniority is suppose to work.It also protects from the company kicking out older experience workers for young cheap labor.Loyalty can go a long ways with companies.

If you got people skimming by on a company...where and what did the supervisors do to stop it? :-?

There's bad and good things about everything including people.

[firefightn15]

Agree, seniority is not totally useless, but it is to the extent that it is taken advantage of at the expense of less tenured employees because of laziness.

[done]

Work ethic sucks all around.

You know it is bad when I have been called "exceptional" when I work 40 hours a week M-F. Which to me means doing your job.

I do interviews for my company some times. I really do not interview recent grads too much anymore. They all think their piece of paper earns them a salary that we would give someone with 5yrs experience (BTW a degree is a min req for the position not extraordinary).

It is just depressing sometimes. I have seen CTO's and CIO's(usually the board members I would deal with) at large companies who are the laziest and most useless piles of human flesh you could imagine.

It is depressing when you see so many hard workers on unemployment while some absolute losers keep their jobs.

[Stasher1]

Stasher1, if you can let a job go in lieu of schooling more power to you; I mean that sincerely. Where I live this is largely impossible with our current economy. Every one I know, including myself who is fortunate to have work is doing their level best and keeping their nose to the grindstone trying to keep a job. Right now even that isn't enough to guarantee a job is there for you.

As I stated in my post, I have three kids. Two of them are school age and the youngest is 2. The high cost of decent full-time daycare combined with the pay cuts and horrible starting wages in most fields right now make it more cost effective to stay home with my son.

By the time they take taxes out of my check and I pay the sitter, I'm clearing less than $2 hr at my current job. Take out some more $$ to cover gas and it's almost a wash.  >  I could actually work at McDonalds a couple nights a week and clear more $$ than I do now.