A NEW ETHIC FOR WORK?

THE WORTH ETHIO

Barry Z. Posner, W. Alan Randolph, and Max S. Wortman, Jr.

The American business community is faced with

a numher of very serious problems. Not only are
companies encountering double-digit inflation, energy shortages, and recession, hut their managers
are confronted with understanding today's work
force which, despite high levels of unemployment,
has hecome alienated from the tedium of the work
place. Symptomatic of this are high rates of worker
ahsenteeism, tardiness, and turnover, industrial
sabotage, worker apathy, and decreasing rates of
industrial efficiency and productivity.
To solve these problems managers need to understand the fundamental changes which have taken
place in workers' attitudes and values, as well as
the role of work in today's society. The old-fashioned
"work ethic" notion is no longer an adequate explanation of worker motivation. Indeed, the work
ethic as a way of descrihing society's view of work
is on the verge of losing its meaning and utility.
It is our hypothesis that the meaning of work has
evolved through what appears to he a cyclical
process: heginning with little differentiation between
"working" and "not-working," moving through a
period of rather marked distinctions hetween the
two activities, and now evolving again toward an
age where it will be difficult to distinguish hetween
"work" and "non-work.""^ This evolution has made
the usefulness of the work ethic concept questionable and has brought us to the threshold of a potentially new understanding of the role of work in our
society. This new understanding of work is conceptualized as the "Worth Ethic" and is a key to
making sense of the prohlems facing today's managers.
1 By work activities, we mean efforts to produce goods or
services for business, government, and not-for-profit organizations.
By non-work activities, we mean things like: leisure,
recreation, travel, education, hobbies, and participation in
citizen-oriented groups and voluntary associations.

In this paper we hegin by defining two key conceptsthe work ethic and the worth ethic. Then
we briefly review the evolution of the role of work
in society from primitive times to the present. Next
we consider the psychological functions of work
and review some recent empirical research which
supports the worth ethic concept. Finally, we discuss the future implications of the worth ethic and
offer some suggestions which managers may find
useful in solving their most pressing problems.
The Work Ethic and the Role of Work

The work ethic has provided a powerful statement

to tie together the prevailing socio-economic systems
of the times. In its most general sense, the work
ethic has held that work in and of itself was
valuahle, and that through work, the individual
would be a better person and be a success in life.
The work ethic has heen presented as a way to stay
out of trouble, while huilding character and virtue.
The payoff has heen in terms of a hetter standard
of living, especially for each succeeding generation.
There may, however, he some readers who douht
that such a thing as the "work ethic" ever existed,
especially at lower socioeconomic levels. In fact,
there is little factual data that blue collar workers
have ever consciously acknowledged a work ethic.
Yet, while the work ethic may not have won over
the minds of workers, it certainly had an impact.'''
For those who set national policy and estahlished
entreprenurial directions for the country did so (and
continue to do so) upon the assumption of a work
ethic principle among the working class. Indeed,
today many important national issuessuch as social
welfare programs, economic recovery plans, and
wage-price controlshinge on assumptions surrounding the role of work in our society.
- Sebastian de Grazia, Of Time, Work, and Leisure;
New York; The 20th Century Fund, Inc., 1962, p. 164.

Human Resource Management, Fall, 1975 15

allow the individual opportunity to influence

tbe policies, goals, and procedures of tbe work
setting
be non-exploitative
contribute to the quality of the society

The significance of the work ethic has relied substantially on being able to differentiate work from
other time-consuming activities. However, technological and cultural advances are bringing about a
society where the distinctions between "work" and
"non-work" are breaking down. In this situation,
the work etbic becomes a meaningless notion for
evaluating the use of one's time. We contend that
the worth ethic may soon take the place of the work
ethic in determining the role of work.

The worth ethic states that a person's work should

provide opportunities for personal growth and
achievement. What this concept suggest is an ethic
of greater individual accountability for tbe use of
one's time, energy, and resources. It means being
independent, active, and responsible. Moreover, by
the worth ethic, value will adhere only to "work"
which the individual defines for himself or berself
as meaningful. And meaningful work will be tbose
activities wbich contribute to an individual's sense
of dignity and self-fulfillment as a human being. In
other words, one does not work merely because of
societal expectations, familial responsibilities, or
religious beliefs, but because one bas worth as a
human being and can make a significant contribution to the society as a whole through work.

What Is the Worth Ethic?

The worth ethic holds that people have worth by

virtue of being buman beings and not by virtue of
some activity such as work, education, travel, or
any other activity in wbicb one migbt engage. It
breaks down tbe traditional distinctions between
time engaged in typical work activities and time
engaged in non-work activities. The wortb ethic
has as its rationale and purpose the creation and
development of bealtby and mature individuals, as
opposed to the immature person wbo is passive,
dependent, apathetic, destructive, and rebellious.

Evolution of the Role of Work

The worth etbic maintains tbat work should and

The role of work as indicated by the worth ethic has

developed via an evolutionary process. Over time,
work has played significantly different roles in various cultures and civilizations. From its initial role in
primitive cultures when it was viewed as being

can:
facilitate self-growth and development
enhance the use of unique skills and ideas
encourage creativity and learning
provide opportunities to interact with others

FIGURE 1
Major Themes Surrounding the Meaning of Work
high
MAN AS
PHYSICAL ENERGY

MAN AS
ORGANIZER

MAN AS
GUIDER OF TOOLS

MAN AS
MENTAL ENERGY

. as right and
duty and means
o salvation

. necessary as
remedy for
temptation
as an atonement
and means
of charitv,

as questioned
^activity
. . as natural
as play?
low

Primitive

Ancient
Civilization

Early
Christianity

Medieval
Christianity

Reformation
TIME

16

A New Ethic for Work? The Worth Ethic

Industrial
Revolution

20th

Present

Future

"as natural as play" to its future role when it may be

viewed again as being "as natural as play," it has
progressed through may different stages (see figure
1). The following nine states indicate the evolution
of the role of work in different societies.
Primitive cultures seemed to make no distinctions
between work and free time. In fact, their languages
often used the same words for "work" and "play"
because the majority of their time was spent in providing for basic needs.
Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, and Incas all believed work to be a curse.
They thought of work as manual labor which was to
be performed by slaves. Otherwise, a citizen's time
should be spent in scientific, liberal arts, or sporting
pursuits. As a result, a distinction between work
and non-work activities began to emerge.
Early Christianity placed a positive value on
work as a way of attaining riches to share with the
poor and as a way to avoid idleness which would
lead to "evil thoughts." St. Paul preached: "The
man who will not work shall not eat."'' The early
Christians directed their energies toward organizing
the Church and classified this work as an instrument of purification and atonement.
Medieval Christianity in the form of the Catholic Church preached that work was good because
it was painful, humiliating, and a remedy for temptations of the Resh. This notion further reinforced
the early Church's concept of work as an atonement for sin.
Work became the natural right and duty of all
as long as it fit into a plan organized by God"a
calling." To this end, St. Thomas Aquinas drew
up a hierarchy of professions which said that work
was a necessity of nature. However, work still had
to have a moral goal, such as charity, because the
Church would not allow it to become an end in
itself.

tiation between work and non-work began. Luther

maintained that work was the universal base of
society. He made no distinctions between religious
work and other types of work as long as both were
done in obedience to God. As the Calvinists pointed
out, work was not only punishment for original
sin, but more importantly, was a God-given opportunity for people to be creative and establish a
new life.
The Industrial Revolution brought with it a new
economic order and an almost insatiable demand
for "workers." The number of legitimate callings,
now termed "occupations," increased dramatically.
The accumulation of the fruits of one's work was
a measure of a person's piety as well as a mark of
his/her cleverness, skill and creativity.
Twentieth century America seemed to further
separate the concept of work from religious doctrine
and accorded work a special status in life. Work
became the self-expression of people.* The importance of work was dramatized during the development of the Labor Movement, and with the arrival
of the Great Depression, "having a job" became a
major obsession. In a 1971 Labor Day address.
President Nixon stated: "I would like you to join
me in exploring one of the basic elements that gives
character to a people . . . most simply and directly
it is called the 'work ethic' As the name implies,
the work ethic holds that labor is good in itself,
that a man or woman at work not only makes a
contribution to his fellow man but becomes a better
person by virtue of the act of working."^

The Reformation and the religious revolution

of the sixteenth century gave work a value in and
of itself. Simultaneously, a decline of the differen-

Today the meaning of work has become increasingly hazy and ambiguous. For example, the Oxford
English Dictionary has nine pages of definitions on
the word "work." Presently, we seem to "work at
everything we do"even relaxing. Moreover, the
differentiation of work from non-work activities is
largely quixotic. For many people, work as defined
by the work ethic has become a questionable activity
due to technological and cultural changes; for
example, changing definitions of success, lessening
fears of economic insecurity, diminishing sexual

3 Joint Committee on the New Translation of the Bible,

The New English Bible: The New Testament, 2nd ed.,
Cambridge, MA and Oxford, England; Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, 1970, p. 355.

* Adriano Tilgher, Homo Faher: Work Through the

Ages; (1930), trans., Dorothy Canfleld Fisher, Chicago,
Illinois; Henry Regnery Company, 1958, p. 134.
" New York Times, September 7, 1971, p. 14.

Human Resource Management, Fall, 1975 17

division of jobs, increasing educational competencies, and growing doubts about the ideals of efficiency."
The Function of Work Today

As a result of the new worth ethic, workers, particularly women and youth, are placing much
greater demands upon work. They are taking their
lives and means of making a living more, not less,
seriously than workers did before them. Their expectation is that work is an integral part of one's
total life. Hence, work should be of greater significance to the individual and of greater value to
society than merely "a necessary evil."
Work has played and continues to play a crucial
psychological function in the development of an
individual's sense of esteem and self-identity. Because working for a living is one of the basic activities of a person's life, it is not unusual for most
people to describe themselves in relation to the
work organization or work groups to which they
belong. Hence, being a success or failure at work
has easily been transformed into a measure of being
a valuable or worthless human being. The worth
ethic challenges this role of work as a bestower of
human value and dignity.
It is not likely that the workplace will continue to
be the exclusive focus for personal evaluation and
feedback. Non-work activities as well wall provide
the individual with a sense of personal competency
in exercising judgment and achieving results. Both
work and non-work can say to the worker that
he/she has something to offer which is valued by
others and by society. Workers are becoming increasingly articulate and aware of their needs and
inherent worth as human beings. They want jobs
which recognize this, too.
Recent Studies of Worker Attitudes

The worth ethic concept is supported by a number

of recent empirical investigations of worker attitudes. Study after study point out that workers
are seeking activities which confirm their dignity
and worth.
" Daniel Yankelovich, "Turbulence in the Working
World: Angry Workers, Happy Grads," Psychology Today,
Vol. 8, No. 7, December 1974, pp. 81-87.

The Survey of Working Conditions conducted

by the University of Michigan Survey Research
Center asked a representative sample of workers
at all occupational levels to rank various aspects
of their work. They placed highest values on such
aspects as:'
(1) Interesting work
(2) Enough help and equipment to get the job
done
(3) Enough information to get the job done
(4) Enough authority to get the job done
(5) Good pay
(6) Opportunity to develop special abilities
(7) Job security
(8) Seeing the results of one's work
A national attitude study of college students by
Daniel Yankelovich revealed that today's youth are
expecting a great deal of intrinsic reward from
work. Students ranked the "opportunity to make a
contribution," "job challenge," and the "chance to
find self-expression" as the highest items influencing their career choices.*
A social-psychological study of the work orientations of welfare recipients by Leonard Goodwin
of the Brookings Institution unambiguously supported the conclusion that work has the same
meaning among the poor and welfare recipients
that it has for the middle-class and employed individuals.
Stanley Seashore and Thad J. Barnowe have
reported (using data from the Survey of Working
Conditions) that the symptoms popularly associated
with Blue-colar workers are neither a consequence
of collar color, nor of sex, age, income status, or any
combination of these traits; but are associated with
the individuals' conditions of life at work. They
observed that the potent factors which impinge on
the worker's worth ethic were those that "concern
his self-respect, a chance to perform well in his
work, a chance for personal achievement and growth
" Special Task Force to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Work in America; Cambridge, MA; MIT
Press; 1972; p. 13.
8 Ibid, p. 45.
Leonard Goodwin, Do the Poor Want to Work?; Washington, D.C.; The Brookings Institution, 1972.

18 A New Ethic for Work? The Worth Ethic

in competence, and a chance to contribute something personal and unique to his work."^

human beings regardless of the "work" or "nonwork" activities in which they may be engaged.

What these research findings seem to demonstrate

is that people's interests in their work extend far
beyond concerns about salary, working conditions,
and security. Indeed, as the American worker
reaches the point where materially there is not
much more to get out of a job, he/she will be
motivated to look for something else in work. As
the worth ethic suggests, this "something else"
from the work-place will probably come from a
greater degree of responsibility, achievement, feedback, participation, and a higher measure of selfrespect and sense of worthfulness.

In terms of "work," the worth ethic will provide

managers and workers with a clearer understanding
of "why" people work, what drives and needs people
have in work and non-work activities, and how
people interact with each other in these activities.
In having a clearer definition of work under this
concept, people at all levels in an organization
would no longer have guilt feelings about taking
time off from their jobs for some "non-work"
activity. Furthermore, organizations would be more
likely to understand the necessity for the use of
participative management concepts and new methods of motivating employees on the job.

Using the Worth Ethic to Understond Workers

With the advent of the worth ethic, the role of

work will have come full circlethe distinction
between work and play will become unimportant,
as it was for primitive man. Although the work
ethic has served a purpose in the past, it is becoming increasingly less useful as a device for organizing one's life, for evaluating the use of time, or
for developing broad domestic policies.
Inherent in the work ethic concept is the paradox
of working as the only legitimate way of passing
time and the desire for the abundance of material
goods which take time for their use and enjoyment.
Glearly, the work ethic encourages people to organize their lives around their work and promises them
rewards for satisfactory performance (e.g., an increased standard of living). But at the same time,
by working longer hours, they have less time to
enjoy the fruits of their labors. To many, the choice
of either extreme is unsatisfactory. Some type of
balance between "work" and "non-work" must be
achieved.
Through the worth ethic concept, an improved
understanding of the nature of work and the
legitimization of non-work is possible. We may
indeed be returning to an era when "work is as
natural as play' and both have legitimacy. The
worth ethic provides that people have worth as
1" Stanley Seashore and Thad J. Barnowe, "Collar Color
Doesn't Count," Psychology Today, Vol. 6, No. 3, August
1972, 52-F.

In terms of "non-work," the worth ethic stresses

the need for all types of workers to appreciate other
legitimate uses of time which allow an individual
to realize one's potential capacities. Such other
uses of time are not only recreational, but avocational as well. Far too few citizens are engaged
in the activities of their communities because they
are tied too closely to their jobs. Yet many of the
decisions made by governments, non-for-profit
organizations, and pressure groups are those which
ultimately affect a business.
Utilizing a similar concept of non-work, the editors
of The Dynamics of Change concluded:
One scans the horizon of two decades ahead
and sees the almost inevitable collision of great
forces . . . one of the results of that collision will
almost certainly be a society in which some other
ethic than the sanctity of work will have to he
In its most ideal sense, the worth ethic breaks down
the value distinctions between work and non-work.
It vigorously asserts that each human being has
inherent worth regardless of the activities in which
one engages or the labels that come to be used in
describing those activities. It encourages a balance
between work and non-work activities. It legitimizes
the worth of non-work and places a new perspective
on the role of work in our society.
' ' Don Fabun, ed.. The Dynamics of Change; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1966, Sect. V, p. 17.

Human Resource Management, Fall, 1975 19

(6) Increased personal accountability and more

effective appraisal systems which incorporate a
more constructive acceptance of error.
(7) Incentive schemes tied to high quality production, both on group and individual bases, and
recognition for creative and innovative efforts.
(8) Concerted efforts to effectively match people
and jobs and to provide adequate training where
necessary.

Today's Manager and the Worth Ethic

As we have argued, the quest today for meaning

in our work and the integration of work in our
total lives suggest that the work ethic is evolving
into a new moral valuethe worth ethic. Managers
cannot ignore this development if they hope to
affect the current economic/productivity morass.
Today's better educated, more secure, and often
"liberated" workers expect that work should more
fully utilize the "whole" person, rather than just
parts of his/her skills and abilities. Additionally,
they expect to have more control over and to be
involved with making the decisions which affect
them in their jobs. "A fair day's work for a fair
day's wage" takes on a new definition in this light.
Managers cannot expect workers to be happy and
satisfied, nor very creative and productive in jobs
which demand a fair day's work plus loss of emotional stability and loss of a part of their intellect
in return for a fair day's pay. Such work does not
acknowledge the worth of human beings.
Some ways in which the manager can operationalize the concepts embodied in the worth ethic are
by increasing the worker's sense of responsibility
and sphere of control, as well as by including them
in the planning and monitoring of operations.
Motivating forces for today's work force involve
challenging work, recognition, participation, and
opportunities for growth and achievement.
Suggestions for increasing worker satisfaction and
productivity include:
(1) Increased control over scheduling, both in
terms of hours on the job and ordering of the
tasks performed on the joS.
(2) Increased control over resources, including
responsibilities for cost concerns.
(3) More direct feedback regarding individual
performance; e.g., reeognition of quality and
creative efforts along with assistance where work
is not up to standards.
(4) Opening up the channels of communication
so that workers can direct their inputs to the
appropriate places without going through several
intermediate stops.
(5) Improving overal communications in organizations so that individuals can better understand
the relationship between their jobs and the overall company performance.

20

Longer term solutions will require the design of

new technologies which not only take into account
efficiency requirements and the physical attributes
of human assets, but also incorporate worker's needs
and attitudes into the design.
In any case, effective solutions will be developed
via a cooperative effort between management and
workers. This cooperative aspect is essential, because participation and challenge are current worker
needs which traditional, work-ethic organizations
have failed to recognize and satisfy. The worth
ethic helps to explain the incongruency between
the needs of today's workers and the requirements
of formal organizations. Thus an appreciation of
the worth ethic and its implications will be essential to managers in solving the problems facing today's American business community.

Barry Z. Posner

received a master's degree in Public Administration from

the Ohio State University and is currently pursuing a
Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior/Theory at the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst. His graduate study, research
and consulting activities have been in the areas of human
resource development, small-group dynamics, and the design
of socio-technical systems.
W. Alan Randolph

is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Administration in the

School of Business Administration, University of Connecticut. His current research interests include the impact
of an organization's technology on its human subsystem,
and the utilization of organization development to create
efficient interfacing of organizational subsystems. He has
served as an organization development consultant to state
agencies and has conducted workshops in leadership and
organization development.
M<ix S. Worfmon, Jr.

is a Professor of Industrial Relations and Management in

the School of Business Administration, University of Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous articles and books
in the areas of personnel, manpower management and industrial relations, and he has served as a consultant to both
private and public organizations.

A New Ethic for Worh.1 The Worth Ethic