'Work Ethic' and 'Employer Ethic'

Extended Addendum to

GAIN: The Dynamics of Successful Economic Outcome

 

 

 

The broad, overall view of economic ethics [in the book] up to this point, has meant...

 

...producing products and services with both life and economic basic purpose value

and trading them in symbiotic exchange with value for value equity...

 

...all produced, consumed, and traded in a manner contributive to long term well being

for all people, populaces, other life, and environmental conditions

included in, contributing to, or effected by any economic activity.

 

[Yeah, I know, that's a mouthful. But it's really not that complicated]

 

 

 

Generated from that standard, comes the everyday ethics we think of as...

 

'Work Ethic' and 'Employer Ethic'

 

defined here as...

 

The ethical disciplines and behaviors of

creating, operating, or contributing to

a group productivity.

 

or, if you like,

 

The behaviors and disciplines required

of a creator, operator, or member of a productive group.

 

 

We call ourselves productivity class because we earn our livings productively as specialized producers [working producers] or organized producers [businesses or other types of organizations]. That means we earn our livelihoods as productive contributors to the world around us and operate to the standards of productivity class ethics [otherwise we would not be productivity class but rather a bunch of self-serving ‘inverts’ (look that one up in the book) with no sense of concern for or responsibility toward others]. And that means we are never substandard, predatory, degrading, corruptive, or harmful in our productive disciplines or group/social behaviors. In order to live up to that standard, we abide by 'codes of productivity and behavior' called a work ethic and, for a business, an employment ethic.

 

Further, the relationship between an employee and an employer is a trade relationship – a symbiotic exchange of specialized service by a working producer for pay in tradeable currency from an organized producer – and as such is subject to the ethical standards of mutually beneficial exchange and civil human behavior.

 

In order to create and maintain positive and productive conditions, we have developed the employed’s 'Work Ethic' and the business 'Employment Ethic' given below. Each is a set of simple behavioral disciplines that over time have been proven to maintain the proper standards of relationship and productive responsibilities by each party. A standard which abides by both life and economic ethics in the employee/employer relationship.

 

[Contributions to improve upon these standards are always welcome.]:

 

 

 

 

Basic Work Ethic:

Or

‘On Being a Human Resource’

 

[The employed's responsibility toward the organization

in a 'trade agreement' as an 'employee' producing for pay.]

 

 

[Important Note: 'Work ethic' up until recently had been a simple code of…

• 'be punctual',

• 'work hard and well',

• 'be worthy of your pay',

• 'work well with others', and

• 'serve the best interests of the company' or business.

 

Such personal ethical 'policies' fell out of favor for a while when too many companies began using employees work ethic to exploit employees through their ethics while abandoning reciprocal considerations. The trend is now swinging back toward reciprocal ethical agreements by companies, but only because of the consumer market's demand for it – consumers want the companies they buy from to treat their employees ethically and morally, and provide a safe (in all ways) working environment.

 

Below is a common set of principles and policies, personal and professional, proven over time to benefit both employees and employers in any organized economic endeavor – a work ethic.]

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Timeliness

'Punctuality'

 

Show up for work in time to actually start work when it begins:​​

• Be at your work station prepared, and and begin working on time. [Allow time for unusual traffic delays on the drive to work, social delays on the way to your work station, etc.]

 

Return from breaks and lunch within lunch and break times:

• Going to and from where you break and eat lunch is part of break and lunch time. [Allow time for social delays on the way here, too.]

 

 

 

Productivity

‘Diligent Industriousness’

 

Produce, produce, produce – in volume and in value: 

• Get a lot done, done well, and in a timely fashion.

• Follow instructions from superiors or advice from more knowledgeable, highly respected peers.

• The 'application' of all the 'principles of produce' apply here. Read the book. Your productivity and the value of it has to earn your employer a profit, or profit your employer in the purpose for which you were hired.

• Learn how the 'organization' is organized, and in concert with others, align your work with those whose productivity is connected to yours so as to also compliment the overall flow of productivity.

• Understand the purpose of the organization as a business [or other type of organization] and produce in a manner contributive to that.

 

 

 

Productive Education

'Responsibility for Education in Your Specialty'

 

Educate yourself to produce at the highest required or desired standards [of volume and value]:

• Learn what is expected of you and what is required to do the job in your particular organization.

• Learn what is taught to you about the job, and then what may not be taught to you but is still necessary to operate and produce at the highest required standards.

• Take responsibility upon yourself to continually educate yourself in your specialty to the ability required to operate and produce at the highest industry standards. [If it doesn't help at one employer, it will help at the next.]

 

Earn your increases in pay and responsibility by providing the highest standards of productivity and effective people skills:

• It is not enough to produce at the highest standards. For promotions to leadership or management, you must also earn the respect of others – both those of management and the workforce. Get educated in people skills and/or managing people if necessary. [Besides, 'Does not work well with others.' is an unacceptable attribute in any employment circumstance.]

 

 

 

Contribute to the Group Culture

'Real Life Working Well with Others'

 

Contribute to the unity, forward motion, and purpose of the group:

• Be positive in your communications with others – be encouraging, supportive, and uplifting. Be a positive contributor in suggestions for improvement and in group participation toward the organization's achievement of its purposes.

• Do not create, propagate, or abide negative attitudes and behaviors – no demeaning, undermining, or playing 'head games' with others; no back-stabbing, gossiping, or socially disruptive, destructive, or corruptive behaviors.

• And most especially, keep a zero tolerance for mentally, emotionally, physically, or sexually disrespectful or abusive remarks or behaviors.

 

 

 

Fair Consideration when Parting

'Due Consideration When Terminating the Trade Agreement'

 

Giving fair notice before leaving a company for another job?

• The original intention here was to be fair and give a company time to hire your replacement so as not to leave them in the lurch – usually considered 'two weeks notice'. Times have changed, however, and since new employers are usually in need of your immediate participation and frown on waiting two weeks for you to arrive, and since that probably includes the company you are leaving, this ethic becomes a judgement call. You might also want to consider whether or not your company gives notice before laying people off, or whether it provides two weeks layoff or severance pay. 'Reciprocation' is the key consideration.

 

 

 

Ethics Is Not a One Way Flow.

'Require Employer Reciprocation – Demand Your Due'

 

Require fair pay for your productivity:

• Know the going rate for competence in the work you do – and require fair compensation for your level of competence and productivity. [Keep in mind that some jobs don't require your best and don't pay more than the job itself is worth.]

• Remember, the cost of your 'benefits' are a part of your pay.

 

 

Require respect, good regard, and attention to safe, healthy working conditions and equipment:

• Require from an employer – in fact, all personnel – reasonable considerations for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and the same behaviors toward you as they require from you.

• Employees should require that employers do not exploit or take advantage their position of power to withhold fair and reciprocal ethical behaviors. Remember that employment is a trade agreement – value in specialized service for equal value in currency, and as a group member, respect for respect, good regard for good regard. All considerations should be on a reciprocal basis – favor toward you should be reciprocated with favor from you, and favor from you should be reciprocated with considerations for you. [Note the relationship between 'reciprocation' and 'trade'.]

 

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A Little More on Work Ethic:

[Symbiotic Exchange equates to much more than 'productivity vs. pay' alone.]

 

 

Always remember, employment is a 'trade agreement' between the employed and the employer. Therefore, in order to meet your 'trade agreement' as a productivity class 'employee producing for pay'...

 

Produce, produce, produce – in value and in volume!

• This is your number one responsibility to your employer. Businesses, small and large, are economic organizations. They are created for the purpose of serving consumers in exchange for serving the basic purpose economic pursuits of their owners, operators, administrators, and employees. And 'all things economic begin with produce'. Your productivity is the primary purpose of the 'trade agreement' between you and your employer.

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Between your own standards and those set by the organization, maintain the higher set of standards:

• If none specifically exist in the workplace, or if they are less than your own 'personal operating principles', maintain your own set of high standards of working and operating conduct, principles, and practices – this is your 'personal professionalism in trade'.

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Come to work on time and ready, capable, and prepared to produce:

• That should be 'enough said'. But it does also include several disciplines not always considered when thinking of one's employment responsibilities or personal professionalism: such as taking care of one's health and personal condition; maintaining up to date knowledge and skills in one's profession, specialty, or type of work; maintaining the necessary personal logistics and routines that keep your personal life and work life synergistic and contributive to each other, etc.

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Come to work understanding your role, willing to contribute to and forward the purposes of the organization:   

• Every organization is built with its own organizational structure, its own infrastructure, and its own culture all designed to achieve its purpose. Every owner, administrator, manager, and employee has a specific and specialized role to fulfill beyond the simple functions of the job itself. This is an additional required role that also contributes to the accomplishment of that purpose – working well with others – which really means 'working well in and as a part of a group'. Again, the standards you live up to under this agreement is your 'professionalism in trade' [i.e. those professional standards you bring to the trade agreement].

 

 

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Basic Employer's Ethic:

or

‘On Being a Human Resource Consumer’

 

[For organized producers (business or other) – employers]

 

[Important Note: 'Employment ethic' up until the 1980's had included policies like...

• promote from within the organization from career diligent, dedicated employees;

• 'company paid' long term retirement programs [usually based on company and outside stock investments];

• working through temporary unprofitable times to keep people employed;

• severance pay when layoffs were permanent due to moving or restructuring;

• company training from the bottom up – apprenticeship programs, etc.;

• providing for the bulk of  health care benefits, with a small percentage paid for by the employee

• etc.

And those were just the common benefits provided by the average business. This was back in the time when a 'company' was called so because it was a 'body of people' brought together for productive purposes [meeting the definition of the word 'company'] and when employees were 'personnel' ['persons' and not 'human resources' – i.e. people were thought of as 'people', not 'resources'].

 

Starting in the 1970's, and culminating fully in the 1980's, such company ethical 'policies' fell out of favor as companies began thinking of employees as 'resources' and no longer as 'personnel' – as a 'resource expense' rather than 'persons who worked for the company's benefit'.  Cutting payroll meant lower expenses. Lower expenses meant record profits for companies. And record profits meant record stock prices. This kind of thinking justified exploiting employees while abandoning reciprocal considerations for those who worked hard for the company. This trend is now shifting back toward reciprocal ethical agreements due to the consumer market's demand for more ethical corporate behavior from the companies they buy from. It is unlikely, however, that company benefits will ever return to those days.]

 

Employers, however, do still have productivity and behavioral standards:

 

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Productivity Ethics

'No-harm Productivity'

 

Producing at maximum productivity while safely protecting people, life, and environmental conditions [also see ‘Responsibility for Health and Safety’ below]:

• This is the ethical consideration for 'long term well-being for all people, populaces, other life forms, and environmental conditions included in, contributing to, or effected by any productive activity' [as stated in the book in the section The Twelve Elemental Activities: the definition of Ethics] employed by a company, manufacturer, or organization.

• Productivity ethics also includes symbiotic [mutual benefit] consumer relationships and agreed upon standards of fairness and 'value for value' exchange where all values are knowable and understandable by both parties.

 

 

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On Employment Equities

 

'Fair Pay', and 'Equal Pay for Equal Work' ['pay commensurate with productivity']:

• Employee pay must not be a separately negotiated deal for each employee or group of employees.

• In addition, pay for productivity must not be determined by individual or community conditions, situations, or circumstances. Considerations for pay is a symbiotic trade based on consideration for fair value of the work and basic purpose benefit by both parties. Once such a standard is set, it must apply to everyone who provides that same productivity – by volume and by value.

 

 

Equal Employment and Advancement Opportunity for Everyone, Regardless of Human Genetic or Cultural Variables [– i.e. race, gender, sexual preference, age, ethnicity, etc.]:

• This is really just an extension of above. And for the same reasons. Bias, bigotry, prejudice, and favoritism are not employment factors or hiring, or advancement considerations. Anyone who can do a job must have equal consideration for that job.

 

 

Security of Ethical Treatment ['ethical cultural conditions']:

• Companies – businesses, corporations, organizations of any kind – must provide all employees with a guarantee that they will always be treated with ethical, moral, and culturally acceptable behavior. Mutual respect and good regard must be required at all levels of management and employment [not just from subordinates toward positions of authority] – a company's demand for ethical and moral behavior must not be a one way flow.

 

Protect Employees That Speak Up About Ethical Problems ['no retaliation' policies]:

• This is 'policy two' of 'Security of Ethical Treatment'. There must be 'zero tolerance' of retaliatory behaviors. Any retaliatory actions taken against an employee that speaks up about unethical behaviors should be corrected immediately upon notice of it.

 

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Appropriate Gradients of Corrective Actions for Productivity/Behavioral Offenses ['productivity/behavioral penalties']:

• A first offense may only require admonishment from management and an assignment that trains the employee toward correct behaviors. A second offense may require a hard rebuke and stronger corrective training. A third offense a demotion or permanent removal from authority over others. A fourth offense might then be a termination of employment.

• In most cases of corrective behavior, 'zero tolerance immediate termination' is inappropriate. In most cases the appropriate method of correction is a gradient increasing of penalties, ending, if remaining uncorrected, in eventual termination as stated above. 'Zero Tolerance immediate termination', however, must be considered when dealing with certain inexcusable, abusive behaviors. Some offenses are so egregious and well known as unacceptable as to justify immediate firing of an employee – but they are actually in the few: physical sexual contact; uninvited solicitation of sex; sexual relations between a superior and a subordinate; racist or ethnic demeaning remarks toward others; general racist or supremacism behaviors; any type of physical abuse; targeted harassment of any kind; etc. 

 

Policies forbidding these inappropriate behaviors are mostly designed to legally protect both the company and its employees. However, they also fulfill the need to create an effective working environment, as well as protect the company's or organization's effective working relationship with their employees and the consuming public. Corrective actions are almost always judgement calls considering what level and intensity of correction, admonishment, or rebuke is appropriate for the offense and effectively corrective of it. And it should be wielded fairly toward, and in consideration of, all effected parties.​

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More on Employer's Ethics:

'Basic Standards for Human Conditions and Treatment of Employees'

[Standards Employees Should Expect from Organizations, Administrators, and Managers]

 

 

Responsibility for Employees Health and Safety as Pertains to the Workplace:

• An employer's management ethic must include ensuring safe and healthy procedures, equipment, and conditions for their employees work and work environment. Substandard health and safety conditions, putting employees at even remote risk of harm or ill-health is an egregious neglect of responsibility and a reprehensible betrayal to those who work to an employer’s benefit. Period.

 

 

Genuine Leadership:

• The very term 'leadership' implies there is someplace to go, a process to get through, or something to accomplish in which an individual or group may need guidance from a central, directing, or managing influence – a leader. Leadership is always a necessity in getting an organization built, and then in operating it. Since working producers are dependent upon right direction for their own success in an organization, the quality of leadership is therefore as important to the working producer as it is to the organizing producer [the owners, operators, administrators, and managers].

 

Within the proper relationship frameworks [mutual respect,  honest intention, clear communication, etc.], employees and employer must together fulfill their 'trade agreement' to produce and contribute to the success of the organization and its mission – each through their particular specializations and as a contributing member of a coordinated group or team.

 

As such, those responsible for leadership must include direction of working producers toward consistent development of knowledge, skill, and profitably productive capabilities – corresponding with the organization's needs. It is the leader’s [manager’s, administrator’s, etc.] responsibility to be able to translate that increase in productive skills into profitable productivity and the success of the organization – including leading all qualified employees toward available upward mobility [productive or management responsibility] based on their productive contribution and the organization's growth.

 

[Note: It is the working producer's responsibility to be able to translate that increase in productive skills toward other employment should the need ever arise – protecting the community from unnecessary unemployment taxes.]

 

 

Successful Management:

• Every member of an organization, from the investors and owners to the least vital employee, who have invested their hard earned gain, or basic purpose efforts, into that organization, deserve to have that organization managed ethically, correctly, and successfully.

 

For our purposes... MANAGING: The activity of controlling or directing any or all of the aspects of an organized activity [in this case economic] or any part thereof.

 

The success of an organization depends upon every member of the group doing their part successfully. However, improperly managed, any individual or unit of a group can function in a manner successful for their own task or specialty, yet incompatible with the organization's 'clockwork of effort', or any of the other productivities inter-related to their own, and thus end up inhibiting, or out-and-out working against, the efficient completion of the purpose of the organization. In other words, the way an employee or unit can do their own work can be in a manner incompatible with a group or team effort, and thus distort, slow, or cripple the overall organized productive efforts.

 

Therefore, every organization requires an effective controlling and directing authority – management – that knows how to a) create an organized system of activities that accomplishes the productivity, and with it b) motivate the cooperative effort by employees that is required to accomplish that productivity effectively and efficiently.

 

Creating that required motivated, cooperative effort

is where effective 'management' and 'leadership' comes into play.

 

Without the management and leadership required to operate the productive system and the cooperative efforts of the personnel, the entire endeavor becomes inefficient or can even operate in a manner that prevents its own purpose from being accomplished. When that happens, everyone experiences the loss of gain and, therefore, loss to their basic purpose objectives.

 

The number one reason for people losing their employment

is unsuccessful or mis-management of their organization

or mis-management of the economic environment.

 

 

Quality of Productive Capital Resources:

• This sounds like something that only concerns the organization and the organizing producers. However, poor quality productive capital resources limits the productivity of a specialized producer. This limits the productivity of the specialized activity, and therefore, the whole organization.

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The effect on the working producer is to limit their opportunities within the organization, as well as limiting development of specialization skills and the improved productivity that would be accomplished with the better quality, more advanced capital resources.

 

 

‘Quality of Standards’ of Working Conditions:

• This is more than health and safety conditions. This is an extension of basic purpose 'improved living conditions'. People 'live' one quarter or more of their lives at work.

 

Therefore, the quality of general working conditions should also be consistently 'improving' – equaling as closely as possible the quality of general living conditions of the surrounding society. Usually clean, neat, orderly, and furnishings in good repair is sufficient. Therefore, clean, well cared for and functional facilities [restrooms, break rooms, parking, work floor environment, etc.] should be maintained consistently, and periodically upgraded to keep up with the standards of the surrounding society.

 

 

Fair Pay – Symbiotic Exchange:

• The current primary determining factors regarding how much 'payment in trade' for employee productivity are as follows:

  • the supply and demand of the employment market for the particular knowledge, skills, and productivity needed [see ‘Supply and Demand’ in the book];

  • the predetermined value of the particular productivity to the particular product or employer;

  • the actual value or profitability of the product or service being produced;

  • the current rate paid by other similar organizations for the particular knowledge, skill, and productivity.

 

These four factors above need not all be considered by an employer when making employment wage or salary decisions.

 

Remember, too, that depending upon the symbiotic or inverted* approach to the expense of payroll vs. profits, an employer can be fair or unfair – symbiotic or inverted. [see definitions below; and see book for ‘symbiotic’ vs. ‘inverted’]

 

*Definition: SYMBIOTIC EXCHANGE, For our purposes… [short version] ‘exchange of ‘mutual benefit’ for all effected parties’ in a trade.

 

*Definition: INVERTED, For our purposes… [short version] 'to alter or change the direction of flow or activity so as to produce the reverse or opposite effect' is to invert that activity’.

 

*Definition: ECONOMIC INVERSION For our purposes… [short version] Perversion or corruption of the innate human intent to ‘contribute to’ others for a ‘mutual benefit’ exchange, into an inverted human intent to 'draw away', 'take from', or 'deprive' others for self-serving gain.

 

Ethical employers usually [but not always] consider all four of the above factors in determining the exchange in wage vs. the knowledge, skill, and productivity contribution of an employee. Few come up with the same results, but they do fall within a 'pay range' for that specialization or productivity.

 

Many larger employers sometimes consider other economic factors also, but they are beyond the scope of this primer and are based on higher levels of economic principles – but not necessarily ethically intended.

 

 

'In House' Career Routes  [Organization Provided Advancements in Training and Position]:

• Routes forward in knowledge, skillsets, and competence levels come best from 'in house' apprenticeships and training attached to exterior formal educational sources, and are best incentivized by raises in income and promotions from within whenever appropriate and possible. However,...