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A New Work Ethic

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A New Work Ethic

Describe how typical the attitudes that Sheehy reports appear to be in work environments you have experienced.
I worked as a merchandise manager at Bloomingdales where the average age of the sales associates where 18 to 25 years old. At that time many of the employees regarded the work as something to do until they found real jobs, or until they graduated from college. For many of the It failed to meet the economic and professional standards a college graduates envisioned their college education would, or should afford them. Consistent with Sheehy’s observations, task like sweeping, vacuuming or wiping down glass table were more popular than waiting on customers and restocking shelves with merchandise and all tasks took longer to complete than expected. These associates were smart and looked for any opportunity to get over on the system and do the least amount of work even while getting commission on every sale that was made.
These employees were also smart and studied the handbook in and out. They knew attendance policies and exactly how many times they could arrive late to work before they where written up. The associates also played games with the organization to see how many loop holes they could take advantage of. When some of the college students needed time off to study, they would call out and return before needing a doctor’s note. Some of the students would even go to the doctor and make false claims of being sick in order to have their sick days excused. They also kept everybody else time and attendance to make sure comparative treatment was equal and fair for all the associates.

Explain the implications of the work ethic Sheehy describes for the future of American business.
There has been a breakdown in the values of hard work and customer service. The kind of employees described in Sheehy’s paper and those I

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