Work and Work Attitudes

Work and work attitude are subjects of utmost interest to many as they affect a greater part of our waking hours. Work and Play Work is what one should do and must do regularly, grimly and purposefully. Man is judged by his work and what he must do to deserve his leisure and play. Work is serious adult business that enables one to get ahead and make contribution to society. Work is viewed as a means of attaining whatever one desires and it is best (a cultural value) that one has a great achievement motivation. Work is a fundamental dimension of human existence. It is a physical or an intellectual effort directed towards a desired end. Play is fun, an outlet from work, without serious purpose except to make us happier, more efficient, more relaxed and longer-lasting working human machines. It is the man equipped with proper skills and positive attitude towards work and values that can help recover a tattered economy and transform a nation. Attitudes are, therefore, deemed an important variable as well as an indicator of behavior in nearly all walks of life religious, governmental, administrative, economic, commercial, industrial and many more. Attitude is a good prelude to the study of work. Attitudes - It is a measurable and changeable as well as influencing the person's emotion and behavior. Gordon Allport, a prominent psychologist once described attitudes as "the most distinctive and indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology. KINDS OF ATTITUDE 1. Positive Attitudes - are object or ideas that we like and have a tendency to acquire, such as money, diamonds, beauty, knowledge, industriousness, honesty, love for work etc. 2. Negative Attitudes - are those we shun or dislike for they do not give any satisfaction. FOUR FUNDAMENTAL TYPES OF ATTITUDES 1. Utilitarian Attitudes- are adjustive ones that can be recognized most easily in change situations. 2. Ego-defensive Attitudes - protect the person from threats to the ego and the anxiety generated by them. 3. Value Expressive Attitudes- are those maintaining self-identity or leading to self-expression and determination. 4. Knowledge Function - tends to promote meaningfulness in all activity. OPINION- is the expression of ones judgement of a particular set of fact, an evaluation of the circumstances presented to him. FORMATION OF ATTITUDES Attitudes of an individual can be influenced by the culture, by the larger aggregates to which the individuals belong, and primary group. ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK - How to understand the root of poor attitude toward to work - Family influenced - Class structure of our country - Experience MORALE - the summation of the attitudes of the individuals making up the group. BASIC CONCEPT OF ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION Job Attitude - is a tendency to respond to aspects of the job positively or negatively. Job Satisfaction - relates to how the job fits into the total picture of the persons functioning.

Concept of Work
Ida Tarbell (1857-1944) - Work is universal, a naturalist. In her formal essay WORK, she says: Work is something that reaches the deepest needs; that helps to reconcile the frustrating and confusing mystery of the universe. That it helps establish order in a disorderly society, puts despair to sleep and given experience to the youth. Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) - Work is a means to social progress and culture, expresses this from an intellectual angle. All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically and intellectually without effort and effort means work. Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means to manhood and the measure of civilization. Pope Paul II - Work is honorable; it dignifies man. In his Laborem Exercens on human work gives us something of the spiritual and human view. Mans life is built up everyday from work; from work it derives its specific dignity. Throughout work, man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being. Despite the many toils it entails, work enhances dignity hence industriousness is a moral virtue. Labor - in Latin signifies trouble, distress and difficulty. Travail - in French originally denotes a three-pronged instrument of torture employed by the Roman legions. Occupation - among the Latins is something to seize, hold or grapple with. Work - to the Greeks is synonymous with trouble. Work and slavery are identical among the biblical Hebrews.

Classification of Work
Mental and Physical Work - Refers to those types of activities in which remembering, thinking, reasoning, judging are involved. Blue Collar and Knowledge Worker - Blue-collar workers include all those who account for direct labor costs. Knowledge workers include accountants, clerks, tellers, programmers, supervisor and executives Mental and Physical Attributes of Work Different people would classify workers under different terms depending upon their background. One thing we should realize is that whatever the work be, the individual does not only engage in muscular and motor activities but also uses his memory and judgment. And that as a person works, characteristic changes take lace in the body function and behavior. How the mind and the body interlace as a person performs his task (shows in the figure) Elements of Work A scholarly definition of work is the utilization of physiological and mental processes to achieve a goal or accomplish a task. And as Ron J. Marking Jr., writes in Consumer Behavior: A cognitive Orientation, Work is serious adult business that enables one to get ahead and make a contribution. It is what one should do and must do regularly, grimly and purposefully. This serious activity involves four elements.

Will Power - desire; motive; urge Is the faculty by which rational mind chooses its end of action and directs energies in carrying out its strong. It is the tendency of an individual to do something, without being told or directed by anybody. Objective - aims; targets; goals; Is meant a goal or an intended purpose which defines the scope and direction of efforts. Responsibility- commitment; love; reliability; As the obligatory duty to which a person is bound by reason of his status, occupation or assigned task.

Three Main Elements of Conduct:

Compliance - action in conforming with directives that flow down from superiors to subordinates. Responsibility for performance. Obedience - submission to the guidance of an authority. Responsibility for person. Dependability - reliability and trustworthiness. This is confidence that develops when tasks are commensurate with capabilities. Responsibility for duty. Knowledge - perception; understanding; wisdom; A persons range of information which includes theoretical or practical understanding. This is the mental equipment that enables man or the worker to understand clearly the objective.

Dimension of Work
Objective - Refers to the various ways and processes of achieving the purpose. Subjective - Process whereby man manifests and confirms himself as one who controls all activities mental and physical. Main Concern in Behavioral Science Work in its subjective dimension must take into account. The personal, familial and societal spheres. Man not only transform nature adopting it to his own needs, But he also achieves fulfillment as a human being the source of the dignity of work are sought to be primarily in the subjective dimension work is for man not man for work because work enhance the dignity of the worker. Industriousness become a moral virtue

Ethics of Work
Moral Obligation - A good work ethics that instill in every one a sense of satisfaction. In doing ones best could be a key factor in self actualization and in the fulfillment of the goal for national progress. Even if we have all the component for the progress. But with the absence of a strong moral obligation all of these may be postponed, If not altogether thwart personal satisfaction and emotional success. Honestly - The most powerful people are those who work hard enough and honestly enough to fulfill themselves and thus make contribution to national growth. Worker Efficiency This involves the balancing of self-efficiency, group-efficiency and things efficiency. General Objectives are: Self-efficiency Group-efficiency Things-efficiency

Balanced Personal Efficiency

John C. McCaffrey - President of international Harvester Company. Suggest that every businessman needs to learn how to get along with others, both as individuals and as group. Some of that knowledge can come only through experience, but much of it can be taught.

Efficiency With Things Things-efficiency may be more important for the time being when starting to do actual work. Things are easiest to be efficient with because they are tangible and can observed without any attract thinking like preparing financial statement, moving tables and chairs for more efficient work flow. The self and group objectives in preparing in personal efficiency deal with such intangibles. It usually takes time before a person can appreciate the meaning and significance of such intangibles. 1. Wanting to learn is basic. Getting a job is often easier than holding on to it. Dr. William L. Bryan gave the following findings on learning curves. Learning does not progress smoothly- it has ups and downs. Learning is rapid during the first few practice periods; then it slows down as the ultimate skill is approached. 2. Strives for accuracy 3. Break through the plateau 4. Learn the job as it is. 5. Learn from the layer above you. 6. Learn about organization. Your boss and fellow workers, new work routine. To further improve personal efficiency the following plan on how to get things done it: First, clear off enough space. Persistence is the name of the games. Dont short cut. Dont let minor annoyances stop you or worst, prevent you from even starting. Task , equipment. Be resourceful. Stick to the basics. Take a fresh look at what you have around. Use the tools youre familiar with. Use your common sense. Dont let anyone try to convince you what it is. Youre not going to need an expert to do it for you. Finally, take pride in what youve done. Factors Affecting Workers Efficiency and Performance A. Personal Characteristics - traits that distinguish qualities or characteristics of a person 1. Age The relationship between age and job performance may be an issue of increasing importance during the next decade. There is a widespread belief that job performance declines with increasing age. Studies show that the older you get, the less likely you are to quit your job. As workers get older, they have few job alternative opportunities. In addition older members are less likely to resign because their longer tenure tends to provide them with wage rates, longer paid vacations and more attractive benefits. As to age and job satisfaction among professionals, satisfaction tends to continually increase as they age, whereas it falls among non-professionals during middle ages and then rises again in the later years. 2. Gender There are few differences between males and females that will affect their job performance. There are for instance no consistent male-female differences in problem-solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation, sociability or learning ability. On absence and turnover rates, some evidences show that females have higher turnover rates. On absences, women have higher rate of absenteeism than men do. 3. Marital status Consistent research indicates that married employees have fewer absences, undergo less turnover and are more satisfied will their job then their unmarried workers. 4. Number of dependents There is evidence that the number of children an employee has is positively correlated with absence among females. Similarly, the evidence seems to point to a positive relationship between number of dependents & job satisfaction.

5. Tenure Studies demonstrate seniority to be negatively related to absenteeism. Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively related to turnover. B. Ability Ability refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Men arent equal in abilities. Everyone has strength and weaknesses in terms of ability that make him or her relatively superior or inferior to others in performing task or abilities. Two skills of individual ability: 1. Intellectual Ability Perform mental activities; IQ tests are designated to as certain ones intellectual abilities. Jobs differ in the demands they place on incumbents to use their intelligence. 2. Physical Ability It is gain importance for successfully doing less skilled and more standardized jobs in the lower part of the organization. Jobs in which success demands stamina, manual dexterity, leg strength, or similar talents require management to identify an employees physical capabilities. C. Personality Personality traits are enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behaviour. Although traits can be grouped to form certain personality types it cannot be a predictor of employee behavior across a broad spectrum of situations. Major Personality Attributes Influencing Organizational Behavior 1. Locus of control The belief of some people that they are masters of their own fate. Internals believe they control their destinies. Seek actively for information before making a decision, are more motivated to achieve, and make greater attempt to control their environment. Externals believe see their lives as being controlled by outside forces. It is more compliant and willing to follow directions. 2. Achievement Orientation It is centered on the need to achieve. People with high need to achieve can be described as continually striving to do things better. 3. Authoritarianism This refers to a belief that there should be status and power differences among people in organizations. The extremely high authoritarian personality is intellectually rigid, judgmental of others, deferential to those above and exploitive of those below, distrustful and resistant to change. A high-authoritarian personality would be related negatively to performance where the job demands sensitivity to the feelings of others, tack and the ability to adapt to complex and changing situations. 4. Machiavellianism (Mach) An individual high in Mach is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance and believes that ends can justify means. 5. Self-esteem People differ in the degree to which they like or dislike themselves. High seniority SEs believe that they possess more of the ability they need in order to succeed at work.

6. Self- monitoring This refers to an individuals ability to adjust his behavior to external situational factors. Individuals high in self monitoring show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behavior to external situational factors. They are more sensitive to external cues and can behave differently in different situations. Low self-monitors cant disguise themselves this way. 7. Risk-taking People differ in their willingness to take chances. This propensity to assume or avoid risk has influence on the decision making process of managers. D. Learning Its a life time process. It occurs all of the time. Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience. Psychologists have some theories of learning to explain how one acquire patterns of behavior. They are classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning.

Psychologists Theories
Social Conditioning - is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. Operant Conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Social Learning - learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicating behavior observed in ones environment or other people.

The Changing Concepts of Work

Motivation - is literally the desire to do things a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. Promotions - Higher levels of responsibility, reward and status can have disastrous effects. These occur during the age range of 38 to 45. Lawrence Peter - promotions up the ladder may remove the individual from his level of competenceas a number of individuals arrive at their level of incompetence, deadwood accumulates, inefficient bureaucracies grow, quality deteriorates, companies fail, mediocrity triumphs. Fear of failure - Executive especially struggle with strong feelings that they dare not express; The perfectionistic all-ornothing attitudes that are often a condition of success. Work Loss - Is both a cause and an effect of loss of dignity. Can undermine the very structure of personality