Recently (July 19, 2010) in a column in a nationally distributed newspaper (dear abby [by JeannePhillips]) there was a discussion about the work ethic of today’s employees. The debate was fierce; 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 hardly work.”

Of course, only those who have been in the workforce for a reasonably long career would have the work history to render 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 “veterans” thought that people worked “really hard”, “in the past”, while younger employees felt that their current jobs are more demanding.

The nature of work has changed

The nature of work and 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 an after-service information economy. This transition has taken place in a relatively short time. The workers worked in factories, mines, sawmills, etc. perform physically demanding, often dangerous work. Technology, of course, has eliminated and / or made many of these jobs simpler and safer. Strenuous and physically debilitating work is almost relegated to the dustbin of history in this country.

Instead of physically demanding work, we now have mentally demanding jobs. This makes the comparison challenging, perhaps impossible. Who works the hardest, the shovel scooper or the operator of a computerized coal mining equipment?

Employees have changed

Surveys of “Generation Y” workers (after the baby boom) show that these workers expect job satisfaction and work-life balance. They do not have the same level of employee loyalty that previous generations demonstrated, and will “bail 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 do not feel the need to take just any job. Many employees simply will not tolerate the conditions that their parents and grandparents endure.

Acting busy is not the same as being busy!

Technology has made it easier to fool your boss into thinking you are busy working on company business. Surfing the net can seem business-related. Computers can be programmed to email colleagues in the middle of the night while you are sound asleep. These and other similar activities are called “Cyberloafing”. (New York Times, Jan 23, 2009)

Others do “heavy work” that may not be productive from their employer’s point of view. Desk jobs are easier to counterfeit than manual jobs.

Unionization has an impact

Unionized workers are often protected from disciplinary action when they relax. Fairly or unfairly, unions are obliged to represent and protect their members. Increasingly, unions (especially SEIU [Services Employees International Union] they are organizing the service sector.

“Thinking” that work can be more stressful

Some employees are too stressed to be attentive or productive. Recent studies of: Northwest National Life indicate that 40% of workers report that their work is “very or extremely stressful”, Families and Work Institute The results indicate that 26% are “often or very often exhausted or stressed”, and Yale UniversityThe study reports that 29% are “quite 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 work harder today than their counterparts in the past. The nature of the jobs defies meaningful comparison. Additionally, job expectations for professionals and managers have been broadened, so there is little downtime. Even if employees have “normal” hours, they are normally on call most or all of the time. So, as a consequence of the technologies, they are “tied” to the office (by computers and cell phones) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And the debate continues.