Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Work Ethic and U.S. Unemployment

By Robert Weissberg

That millions of Americans, but especially young African-American males, are unemployed is obvious.  Predictably, solutions number in the dozens and come from every point on the political spectrum, but unmentioned in today's nostrums is U.S. workforce quality.  Quality does not mean technical skills acquired in college classrooms or what is learned on the job.  It refers to basic dispositions required for every job, from ditch-digger to neurosurgeon -- even for sports, --and summarized by the term "work ethic."  Absent these, all the billions in educational spending or tax cuts are pointless.  Here's the discouraging point: in today's social climate, imparting a solid work ethic in those who lack it is exceedingly difficult -- and in some cases, impossible.

There is no precise formal definition of "work ethic," but it certainly includes the following traits (omitted are obvious ones like honesty and not doing drugs).

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