Work Ethic

I was in at the terminal last week and had an interesting discussion with the man who conducts orientation for the company.

He bemoaned the lack of work ethic in many of our new recruits. His observation was related to WW2, Korean War and Vietnam veterans. Not the veterans themselves but their offspring. His opinion is that those veterans did a good job of teaching their children a good work ethic which translates well into the driving profession.

I tend to agree with him, in a general sense. My dad was a WWII vet. Hard work was not optional, it was the minimum expected.

So my point is this: How has the work ethic dynamic changed and how do you see it impacting the new generation of drivers?

I think a standard interview question should be something like "how many times have you mowed a lawn?" Many people in younger generations never mowed a lawn, it was below them to do such a thing, either they or parents hired someone to do it. I've never had a worker do work that I haven't done myself. My dad wasn't a vet but a very hard working farmer who would rather be working than going on a vacation.

Wisdom is learned through 2 methods. Passed on by our elders and learning from our own mistakes.

I’ve learned plenty both ways over the years. Problem is as time goes on life has been pretty easy, compared to several generations past.

Easy times make soft people, hard times makes strong people.

We are in harder times, and maybe headed for harder. I was told by an elder once that life is a penilum and swings back and forth.

Warning: the devil's advocate has been summoned bc we are in blanket statement territory.

I've never bought into complaints that the work ethic of newer generations is less than that of the ones who have come before.

Changes in technology, attitudes and economics, developed by prior generations and handed down to the following ones, transform the way we see things as we get older. Every generation claims the ones that succeed theirs are somehow lacking.

One could argue that Baby Boomers had everything given to them. After the 2nd world war our economy was in a state prosperity. Well-paying jobs were plentiful. It was a lot easier for a young person entering the workforce to find a career that allowed them to start and raise a family at a far younger age than we see today. Even in a single-income household. There was far less competition for good jobs. Their future was more certain.

I am going to cut across the grain of the conventional wisdom to offer a differing perspective. This is based on observation from doing warehouse work and even a minor amount of supervising. This isn't a comment intended to say that any other comments conflicting with mine are wrong, as I don't think there are right and wrong answers when sharing thoughts based on experience. For context, I am a Gen-Xer, my father being a baby-boomer and Viet Nam vet.

Work ethic isn't necessarily a matter of a generational divide, but more of a cultural phenomenon. The culture of the home in which a person is raised often determines things like work ethic. My father is a surprisingly liberal person in his views, but he gave my siblings and I an example in how he lived of going to work and being dependable. My father worked for the same company (GTE and later becoming Verizon) for 36 years, rarely missing a day of work.

I have worked with people from various generations and I have seen young people fresh out of high school who are 15-20 years younger than I bust their butts and I assume because that's how they were raised. I have seen people from my father's generation who wanted to do the minimum they could to skate by.

Whatever the reason(s) why some people have better work ethic than others, I have found that good work ethic can be infectious. When I have been busting my butt harder than anyone in a warehouse, I see other people up their game to match my energy. At the same time, when I have been working in a warehouse full of people doing the minimum, I have found myself putting in less effort.

Just my thoughts on a really good topic.

I was in construction for 30 years. There's absolutely a generational issue with work ethics. Lack of self motivated labor was one of the main reasons I closed shop. The data supports it.

Millennials failures at assimilation into the workforce is a well documented issue. They are unlike any generation previous. As gen Z comes of age, they are starting to prove themselves as better workers.

These are most certainly not blanket statements, they are borne out by data. Per capita, the Millennials have proven to be very ineffective at working in conventional work places, especially trades and hard labor positions.

It's due to a litany of causes. But it's present. It's also very well documented that Gen X struggles with Millennials in the workplace due to their inability to perform.

On an anecdotal note, I ran adds 24-7 for entry level tradesmen. I would say the odds of getting and keeping a millennial was about 1 in a thousand. I eventually ended up with all my crews being Gen x aged.

There will always be a demand for immigrants to work in the USA because they are strongly motivated to do work that requires a hard work ethic. Work that the young Americans think is beneath their dignity.

Like Davy, my background is construction and what Davy said is spot on.

But back to driving, it sure helps somebody new to the trucking industry if they possess a good work ethic. Not that it can’t be developed, but it is a definite advantage in starting a career.

Lack of self motivated labor was one of the main reasons I closed shop.

Exactly the same reason I closed up my landscaping business. Same problems with different names over and over again.

work that requires a hard work ethic. Work that the young Americans think is beneath their dignity.

Experienced this at a few interviews trying to find young guys for grass crew positions with guys in their 20’s. They believed they were above that work and that it was a Mexicans job. Working on a grass crew requires a lot of hustle and is a young mans game. I Ended up having to hire older guys and ran the the crew myself which ate up most of my time and prevented the growth of the business

Last week my company had 4 new drivers start. I saw the safety guy on Friday and asked him how they were doing. He laughed and said "Fine, when they decide to show up." Two of the four called off multiple days their first week. Wonder how long they will last.