To think “work ethic” is just capitalism’s favourite personality trait?

[NaiceBlueSquid]

We act like “hard-working” is a moral virtue. But isn’t it really just capitalism’s way of getting people to feel proud about exhausting themselves for someone else’s profit? AIBU to think “work ethic” is less about character and more about compliance?

Max Weber has entered the chat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism

I see your Weber and raise you Boltanski and Chiapello

The New Spirit of Capitalism | Verso Books

I don’t have work ethic anymore,I work because I have to pay my wages to everyone else.

Oh hello, random three words name poster with an abstract 'discuss' thread. Why don't you share some of your own experiences that make you think this?

PS the OP can also work as a justification for 'letting' others pick up the slack

Not sure what you’re projecting here, I’ve posted before and I work hard in my job, thanks. It’s a discussion forum and I posted a topic for discussion. That’s literally the point of AIBU. If you don’t like the framing, scroll on.

If you post a lot then you'll be fully aware of an influx of threads started by 'three words username' posters that only contain two sentences that are written/formatted the exact same way your post has been, normally on topics designed to incite a lot of discussion rather than niche topics...

Not everything that sparks discussion is automatically bait. People are allowed to question the status quo without it being labelled a conspiracy or troll post. Let’s just stick to the actual topic or scroll by, yeah?

What’s the theory, is it MN generating clicks or a bored person?

I didn't label it a conspiracy or troll post, I pointed out the actual facts of what can be seen on mumsnet, feel free to click through a few posts and see it for yourself sometime - why are you being so defensive when you could have literally just checked that for yourself and come back here and said 'oh, I see what you mean - but I am a genuine poster'

I’m not defensive, I’m just clarifying. I’ve posted before and this post is genuine, that’s all there is to it. If others have misused similar formatting, that’s not on me. Now, back to the actual topic?

Work doesn't necessarily equal making money, though. What about people who work hard in caring professions?

To me having a good work ethic is about trying your best, not letting others pick up the slack and being reliable. That applies to more than just the pursuit of money.

Do you not think those who work for themselves often have a good work ethic?

I'm a socialist with a strong work ethic. I don't see the problem with working hard at your job and taking a pride in what you do, if its useful and does at least some good (if it doesn't, change it!) The problem comes when you're exploited in the process, which unfortunately tends to be the majority of jobs, at least in the lower socio economic brackets. What we should be striving for imo is not less of a work ethic, but greater rewards for workers.

My post was aimed at how capitalism co-opts the idea of ‘work ethic’, turning it into a moral yardstick, often in contexts where people are being underpaid or overworked. I’ve got huge respect for those in caring professions especially, it’s just interesting how ‘working hard’ is sometimes used as a blanket virtue, even in systems that don’t reward that effort fairly.

It's on you to make people want to respond, not just pose a 'discuss' statement. Contribute something yourself about what's made you think this? Why should we do all the work.. 😉

I think many self-employed people have an incredible work ethic, often working even harder without the protections salaried jobs offer. My post wasn’t about knocking people at all. It’s more a reflection on how the idea of work ethic is sometimes weaponised, especially in traditional employment, to justify burnout or guilt people into overextending themselves. But self-employed people navigate that pressure without a safety net so that’s a different kind of grit altogether.

I do think there's a moral component, and it has nothing to do with capitalism. It would still be true if we lived in a socialist or communist utopia (🙄). Not 'working hard' usually means someone else has to pick up the slack. Assuming you have the capacity to 'work hark', it's immoral to be lazy and put in a pathetic level of effort, knowing that someone else has to work harder to make up the difference.

This is true. True communism relies on people thinking that working hard in accordance with your ability is the right thing to do for the collective good, and that in return others will work hard and benefit you.

You see it on here all the time. An OP will post asking if they should ring in sick to look after their poorly child, or if it would be bad to pull a sickie to have a duvet day on their birthday, and all the good little obedient worker drones will pile on saying that it's fraud and that she'll be sacked and lazy this and entitled that, blah, blah, blah.

All the women on here proud of the fact that they've never had a sick day in their working life and would miss their own mother's funeral if their employer demanded it. There was a thread yesterday posted by someone with a potentially life threatening condition and she was umming and ahhing about seeking medical advice because she had a training course to do.

I say fuck that. Take the sickie. Stick it to the man at every opportunity. No way would I risk sepsis for an employer who would throw me under the redundancy bus without a backwards glance if they thought it was necessary to save their own skin.

Here here

Indeed. But do you feel the same about employees having a duvet day on their birthday?

Yes to all of this.

I literally couldn't care less if I tried.

Perhaps if employers paid decent wages that people can actually live off and created working cultures that were supportive and encouraged people to thrive rather than wring them out until they're husks, then their employees would be less inclined to want duvet days.

People are fucking tired. I wouldn't begrudge a duvet day to anyone. Especially not on their birthday.

You would care if you went to hospital worried about sepsis and there was no one to see you because they thought they'd have a duvet day because they are fucking tired.

If there was no one to see me because one person had a duvet day, then that is because the department is not staffed properly. Even more reason why employees would be tired if there's a department of eight people trying to do the work of 16.