Comment Re: "It might be tempting to blame technology... (Score 1) 105
I don't understand how an employer can refrain from hiring anyone because he mysteriously intuits that some potential employees lack "work ethic".
Moreover, that simple phrase conceals a wealth of assumptions - not all of them reasonable or healthy. Many of us grew up with the belief that "work ethic" was normal and anyone lacking it was bound to fail through their own lack of moral fibre.
But such assumptions cut both ways, or ought to in a decent society. If "work ethic" says that employees must work hard and continuously, obey orders diligently, and sincerely try to further their employer's interests, shouldn't it also dictate that the employer has some reciprocal duties?
How much "work ethic" is it reasonable to expect of intelligent, observant people who notice that their employer treats them as fungible "resources", to be hired and fired in mindless response to the twitch of a spreadsheet, and exploited to the bone while they are employed? Which is normal behaviour for many bosses who sincerely believe that it is their moral duty to squeeze out every last ounce of effort and ingenuity from their subordinates before tossing them heartlessly aside as soon as "computer says"?
Shouldn't bosses treat their employees morally as part of their own "work ethic"?