Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Work Ethic and Ethical Work: Distortions in the American Dream

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Economic progress in the United States has been attributed to the successful combination of two social structures – capitalism as an economic system and democracy as a political system. At the heart of this interaction is a particular work ethic in which hard work is considered the path to both immediate and future rewards. This article examines the evolution of work ethic in the United States, as well as the returns experienced through various adaptations in the country’s history. From this grounding, the information is structured into a proposal that key messages contained in the current, accepted work ethic are subject to distortions that may contribute to unethical decision making. These distortions result from two potentials: (1) efforts to reconcile the work ethic with contradictory messages and (2) exaggerations of the work ethic that become dysfunctional. The intent is to provide a framework that may explain to organizational leaders how people with the same basic work ethic can behave differently in terms of ethical work. Along with this understanding comes the potential to offset possible distortions and to encourage more ethical behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price includes VAT (Hong Kong/P.R.China)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Banks, J.A. and Banks, C.A. (2010), Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, (Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, D.; 1978, The cultural contradictions of capitalism, (Basic Books, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, R.A. and Rosenthal, S.B.: 2005, ‘The Spirit of entrepreneurship and the qualities of Moral Decision Making:/toward a Unifying Framework’, Journal of Business Ethics, 60, 307-315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C.: 2010, ‘Identity, Self-Awareness, and Self-Deception: Ethical Implications for Leaders and Organizations’, Journal of Business Ethics, Online First: doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0424-2. Accessed 10 Mar 2010.

  • Charan, R. and Colvin, G.; July 21, 1999, ‘Why CEOs Fail’, Fortune, 139(12), 69-82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherrington, D. J.; 1980, The Work Ethic: Working Values and Values that Work. (Amacom, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chinn, M.D. and Fairlie, R.W.: 2007, ‘The determinants of the global digital divide: a cross-country analysis of computer and internet penetration’, Oxford Economic Papers, 59(1), 16-44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J.B.: 1999, ‘The Importance of Leadership in Shaping Business Values’, Long Range Planning, 32(2), 166-172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J. B.; 2000, The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work, (Random House, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Clavell, J. (Trans.): 1983, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (Random House, New York).

  • Costa, A.C., Roe, R.A. and Taillieu, T.: 2001, ‘Trust within Teams: The Relation with Performance Effectiveness’, European Journal of work and Organizational Psychology, 10(3), 225-244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Souza, D.; 2000, The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an Age of Techno-affluence, (Simon & Schuster, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • de Tocqueville, A.: 1945, Democracy in America (Originally Published in Paris 1935; F. Bowen, Trans. 1962) (Knopf, New York).

  • Eisenberger, R.; 1989, Blue Monday: The Loss of the Work Ethic in America, (Paragon House, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, D.C. and Weitz, B.A.: 1988, ‘Career Plateaus Reconsidered’, Journal of Management, 14(1), 69-80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frase, M.: March, 2010. ‘Taking Time Off to the Bank.” HR Magazine, 55(3), 41-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A.; 1990, The Protestant Work Ethic: the Psychology of Work-related Beliefs and Behaviors, (Routledge, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gearan, A.: April 17, 2000, ‘Government, Industry to Announce Plans for Bridging Digital Divide’, http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/navajo000417.html. Accessed 25 Feb 2002.

  • Green, F.: 2004, ‘Why Has Work Effort Become More Intense?’, Industrial Relations, 43(4), 709-741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D.T. and Chandler, D.E.: 2005, ‘Psychological Success: When the Career is a Calling’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 155-176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handy, C.; 1998 The Hungry Spirit. (Broadway Books, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Handy, C.; 2002, ‘Tocqueville revisited: The Meaning of American Prosperity’, Harvard Business Review, 79(1), 57-63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henle, C. A., C. L. Reeve and V. E. Pitts: 2009, ‘Stealing Time at Work: Attitudes, Social Pressure and Perceived Control as Predictors of Time Theft’, Journal of Business Ethics, Online First: doi:10.1007/s10551-009-0249-z. Accessed 10 Mar 2010.

  • Hubbard, G.: 2009, ‘Measuring Organizational Performance: Beyond the Triple Bottom Line’. Business Strategy and the Environment’, 19, 177-191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kakabadse, N. K., Kouzmin, A. and Kakabadse, A.; 2000. ‘Technostress: Over Identification with Information Technology and its Impact on Employees and Managerial Effectiveness’, in N. K. Kakabadse and A. K. Kakabadse (eds.), Creating Futures: Leading Change Through Information Systems, (Ashgate, Aldershot.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T. and Sheldon, K.M.: 2008, ‘Time Affluence a Path toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence from Four Studies’, Journal of Business Ethics 84, 243-255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, W.: n.d., Online at http://www.bpib.com/kelly.htm. Accessed 10 Nov 2009

  • Kvasny, L. and Keil, M.: 2006, ‘The challenges of redressing the digital divide: a tale of two US cities’, Information Systems Journal, 16, 23-52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaRose, R., Gregg, J.L., Strover, S., Straubhaar, J. and Carpenter, S.: 2007, ‘Closing the rural broadband gap: Promoting adoption of the Internet in rural America’, Telecommunications Policy, 31, 359-373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, K.S., Drumov, K., Le, H.V. Ommundsen, R., and van der Veer, K.: 2009, ‘Threat Perception and Attitudes Toward Documented and Undocumented Immigrants in the United States: Framing the Debate and Conflict Resolution. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7(4), 115– 134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasch, C.; 1979, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations, (Harper & Row, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurie, B.; 1979, ‘“Nothing on Compulsion”: Lifestyles of Philadelphia Artisans, 1920-1950’, in M. Cantor (ed.), American Workingclass Culture: Explorations in American Labor and Social History, (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay, C. and McQuaid, R.W.: 2004, ‘Avoiding the McJobs’: Unemployed Job Seekers and Attitudes to Service Work’, Work, Employment and Society, 18(2), 297-319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, C.A. and Cukier, W.: 2006, ‘Is Mobile email Functional or Dysfunctional? Two Perspectives on Mobile email Usage’, European Journal of Information systems, 15, 252-260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooradian, T., Renzl, B. and Matzler, K.: 2006, ‘Who Trusts? Personality, Trust and Knowledge Sharing’, Management Learning, 37(4), 523-540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, P. E.: 2010, ‘The Relevance of Responsibility to Ethical Business Decisions’, Journal of Business Ethics, Online First: doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0378-4. Accessed 10 Mar 2010.

  • Napier, J. L. and J. T. Jost: 2008, ‘The “Antidemocratic Personality” Revisited: A Cross-National Investigation of Working-Class Authoritarianism’, Journal of Social Issues 64(3), 595-617

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, M. and Pearson, G.: 2005, ‘Capitalism and its Regulation: A Dialogue on Business and Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics, 60, 91-101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, G.: 1996, ‘Organizational Impact of Workaholism: suggestions for Researching the Negative Outcomes of Excessive Work’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1(1), 1-15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, G.: 2003, Technology Gone Wild: Concerns of Self-Definition and Excess. Proceedings of the Eastern Academy of Management Conference, Baltimore, MD.

  • Porter, G.: 2005, ‘A Career Work Ethic versus Just a Job’, Journal of European Industrial Training, 29(4), 336-352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, G.: 2009, ‘Implications of Employer-Supplied Connectivity Devices on Job Performance, Work-Life and Business Culture’, WorldatWork Journal, 18(2), 6-21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, G. and Kakabadse, N. K.: 2006, ‘HRM Perspectives on Addiction to Technology and Work’, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25(6), 535-560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postman, N.; 1993, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, (Random House, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rayman, P.M.; 2001, Beyond the Bottom Line: The Search for Dignity at Work, (St. Martin’s Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, R. B.; 2000, ‘The Future of Success’, (Knopf, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Revolutionary Worker Online: November 24, 1996, ‘The Shining City on the Hill: Revolutionary Worker #883’, http://rwor.org/a/firstvol/883/puritn.htm. Accessed 10 Nov 2009.

  • Roddick, A.; 2001, Take It Personally, (HarperCollins, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers, D. T.; 1974, The Work Ethic in Industrial America 1850-1920, (Chicago Press, Chicago).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruppel, C.P. and Harrington, S.J.: 2000, ‘The Relationship of communication, Ethical Work Climate, and Trust to Commitment and Innovation’, Journal of business Ethics, 25, 313-318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savitz, A. W.: 2006, The Triple Bottom Line, (Wiley, Hoboken, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlaes, A. and M. Prowse: December 7/9, 2002, ‘Is Inequality Good for You?’, Financial Times, Weekend I & II.

  • Schor, J. B.; 1992, The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, (HarperCollins, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schor, J. B.; 1998, The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need, (HarperCollins, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaef, A. W. and Fassel, D.; 1988, The Addictive Organization, (Harper & Row, San Francisco).

    Google Scholar 

  • Slocum, J. W., Jr, Ragan, C and Casey, A.; 2002, ‘On Death and Dying: The Corporate Leadership Capacity of CEOs’, Organizational Dynamics, 30(3), 269-281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sluss, D.M. and Ashforth, B.E.: 2007, ‘Relational Identity and Identification: Defining Ourselves Through Work Relationships’, Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 9-32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sluss, D.M. and Ashforth, B.E.: 2008, ‘How Relational and Organizational Identification Converge: Processes and Conditions’, Organization Science, 19(6), 807-823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H.: 1981, Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology’, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tougas, JF., Lagace, M., Sablonniere, R. and Kocum, L.: 2004, ‘A New Approach to the Link Between Identity and Relative Deprivation in the perspective of Ageism and Retirement’, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 59(1), 1-23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J.M. and Campbell, W.K.: 2009, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, (Free Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchitelle, L.: 2006, The Disposable American: Layoffs and their Consequences, (Alfred Knopf, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, P.: 2004, The Internet in the Workplace: How new Technology is Transforming Work, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK).

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M.: 1992, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (T. Parsons, Trans.) (Routledge, London).

  • Williams, J. C. and Boushey, H.: 2010, ‘The Three Faces of work-Family conflict: The Poor, The Professionals, and the Missing Middle’, (Center for American Progress, Washington, DC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L. and Smye, M.; 1996, Corporate Abuse, (Macmillan, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yankelovich, D.; 1974, ‘The Meaning of Work’, in J.M. Rosow (ed.), The Worker and the Job: Coping with Change. (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, K.S.: 2004, ‘Internet Addiction: A New Clinical Phenomenon and Its Consequences’, American Behavioral Scientists, 48(4), 402-415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuboff, S.; 1983. ‘The Work Ethic and Work Organization’, in J. Barbash, R.J. Lampman, S.A. Levitan & G. Tyler (eds.), The Work Ethic: A Critical Analysis. (Industrial Relations Research Associates, Madison, WI), pp. 153-181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuboff, S. and Maxmin, J.; 2002, The Support Economy: Why Corporations are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism. (Viking, New York).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden, NJ, U.S.A.

    Gayle Porter

Authors
  1. Gayle Porter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gayle Porter.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Porter, G. Work Ethic and Ethical Work: Distortions in the American Dream. J Bus Ethics 96, 535–550 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0481-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0481-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation