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Work Ethic

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics

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Synonyms

Work and duty; Work and wealth; Work and well-being

Definition/Introduction

A work ethic is a value-based motivation for working. In the now developed world, three such values have been stressed over time: social status, duty, and wealth or, simply, money. Craft pride has also been proffered but is increasingly a victim of automation. Each will be considered here. First, however, a few remarks about how socioeconomic conditions influence a society’s stance regarding one’s obligation to work.

Most people throughout recorded history have recognized a connection between work and well-being. A given society will accordingly expect a person to work inasmuch as its fully recognized members need that person’s work. Sometimes work needing to be done has been done cooperatively, for example, in a monastery, in a commune, or wherever togetherness thrives. Where the work needing to be done is associated with a subset of those in need of subsistence, a society usually introduces some...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emeritus Professor, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Edmund F. Byrne

Authors
  1. Edmund F. Byrne
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edmund F. Byrne .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Deborah C Poff

  2. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

Section Editor information

  1. Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA

    Edmund F. Byrne J.D., Ph.D.

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Byrne, E.F. (2017). Work Ethic. In: Poff, D., Michalos, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_210-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_210-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23514-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23514-1

  • eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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