Is there a difference in American work ethic over the past two decades?
How does our work ethic compare to those in other countries?
Do these also play a role in outsourcing other than simply bottom line costs?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
46 comments:
People slack off a bunch more now than they did over the past two decades because things were harder to get 20 years ago and now, with the new technology its is a lot easier, cheaper and more efficient to get what you want.
America is lazy. People in other countries work so much harder than we do, for a lot less. I mean, how do you think America got the nickname “Obese Nation”? It is just proven by how much our country out-sources.
like sam said, people do slack off more then they once did. we just seem to expect that once we get the job, everything will just go smoothly. Two decades ago people expected to work hard for their money, so they did.
For most part, we ARE lazy. If we look at japan for example, we could are couch potatoes who barely leave the confines of our room. In a gobal ecomomy, people just need to get it through their heads that they are behind but it is possible for us to catch up with other nations. we just need an attitude change.
It might be, but companies are probably just focused on making money.
i agree with rachel and sam. America is lazy, majorly, and all of our slacking off is causing Americans to lose their jobs to people on the other side of the world, and it's all because of all of the technology that has developed over the past twenty years. and the fact that countries like Japan have a better work ethic then we do is a big reason why jobs are going overseas. if we actually tried to do something and worked as hard as we used to, maybe we could get those jobs back.
i think american work ethic has changed because before workers had to work hard and now with electronics it is easy to do things and we dont need to work as hard. i think our work ethic is pretty much the same thing as other countries. These do play a role because we have became so lazy that we cant even do our own work, we have to get some indian people to do it for us all the way around the world.
I agree with Sam. Twenty years ago Americans worked hard. Now, they have a different mindset. They think they can just do "average" and get by with it. That's why we out source so much. People sort of expect other people to do things for them.
I definitely agree that Americans have become more and more lazy throughout the past two decades. America just has no drive left and we expect to be the best when we are only putting 1/8 the effort of every other country out there. But i don't think its necessarily all our fault because due to outsourcing we have lost a lot of jobs that normally are like a "starter jobs." i think people today get discouraged and give up. Other countries like china have so much pressure put on them to be the best they can be that that is why they work so much harder than we do. Americans just have no motivation left. There are many countries that work so much harder than we do and deserve so much better.
I totally agree with Sam and Rachel. I had the opporunity to meet three gentlemen from the UK this past summer. I asked them why the rest of the world doesn't really care that much for Americans. They told me that this generation seems to think that everything will be handed to them, and if anything goes wrong, the governement will back them up and everything will just run as smooth as silk. They said that we are a lazy generation because we are working just hard enough to get by, and we expect everything to be done for us. I agree with them. A lot.
America has definately become the place to slack off. The new technology is just an excuse for people to slack off. Now people have to do very little to earn more. In other countries people work 12 hour days for about 10 cents an hour. I think that this economic downturn is a good thing in a sense because it has made us realize how lazy we really are.
I may be totally off, but this is my view. Things were tough in the 30s during the great depression, and the great depression parents taught their children to work hard. The baby boomers generation proceeded to work very hard, but forgot to pass on the lesson to their kids, who are now not working well at all.
Our generation, however, might just change it all. America has been lazy for the past 20 years, but we're waking up to the fact that brilliant kids are pouring out of India, China, and Japan. We're realizing that if we don't work hard enough, they'll blow us out of the water. That plus the economic downturn might just be the jolt that'll wake America up.
I agree that people have slacked off in the passed two decades. People rely on technology now way more than ever before. People in other countries work harder than Americans do and they have a lower minimum wage. Maybe just looking at the cost of jobs shouldn't be our main focus and we should encourage people to work hard in America too.
My answer was just summed up in pretty much all the blogs so far. So I guess that I can only repeat. America has become lazy, especially in it's education. Over in India, they take their education very seriously and look what's happened, U.S. jobs are being outsourced there and not only in India but Latin America and much of Asia. There, companies can get educated workers, if not better than that in the U.S, and can pay them MUCH cheaper. Our generation that has grown up with so much technology thinks that since we're in America we don't have to give all our effort. Incredibly L-A-Z-Y! America's work ethic seems to be only giving 50% where other countries are giving 150%. You can see why companies have outsourced and offshored.
I think that people have slacked off greatly over the last two decades. America has it easy with the minimum wage. In India their minimum wage is so low that they have to work all of the time very hard to get through life. Americans can work less hard and still make the same if not more money. Yes, companies probably out-source to save money but it is kind of a win-win situation in the fact that companies will pay less money to out-source and get workers that will most likely work harder.
There has been a major decrease in American work ethic,everything is now so easy to do, computer software to help you with taxes, or college tests, or even finding a mate in this world. i'm not saying that these things are bad but we need to stop relying on these things to do stuff for us.
Americans are probably the most lazy and laid back people on earth. i love it when i see a foriegn person hear and he's searching for the "American Dream" and he works so hard and even if he's not succesful he still is thankful that he is here. We take a lot of things for granted in the U.S. It definently does, we just give the jobs to people who will work for anything.
I think america is alot lazier and take more for granted more than we did in the past but i still think america is a country still full of some hard working people who want to make our country better.
I agree with Ben on the fact that people in the Great Depression era worked harder than we do now. Our work ethic is very poor now because even if we don't work, we still get money through welfare, which started because of the Great Depression. People in other countries work harder for less money because they don't have welfare and wouldn't survive with out their small incomes. Because these people are working harder and doing it for less money, outsourcing makes sense to a lot of companies.
I think that the work ethic is somewhat different but still the kinda the same. People used to work for less money but also things were a lot less back then. Things were harder to get so people worked harder, 20 years ago more was expected out of people so thats what they did, worked as much as they were expected, now that we can really do anything at the touch of our finger tips, and don't even have to leave the house to do something more people in the United States are lazier. Not as much is expected out of people in the U.S. as it was 20 years ago, but if the same was still expected then I think people would still work as hard. Our country really doesnt have much if we are out sourcing little jobs just like ordering McDonalds in the drive thru. It's not fair to Americans to get laid off just because you could get someone else to do it for less money. If we worked as hard as we used to be expected we could accomplish so much more.
I agree with ben and I think that early people were tought to have a better work ethic than most of us were, and a lot of our generation had stuff "handed to us" compared to older people. But the desperate economic times might provide inspiration and motivation for some of the new generation to try more to excell globaly...
"Blake Olmscheid is the smartest student in the world...ever, anything that comes out of his mouth is an inspiration to all." ~Albert Einstein
Everyones blog ahead of me are correct. People two decades ago were hard workers because they needed to work harder for more money. Since then the minumum wage has gone up so people dont have to work as hard or as long. Like Kelli said, the technology has been upgraded so people dont need to do everything by hand anymore. People in other countries work harder than our country. They have a great work ethic and they dont slack as much. This plays a big role in outsourcing because if we send our jobs to people in other countries who work harder things will get done faster.
Like Jake said, I also believe that people have slacked off greatly in the last 2 decades.
Our work ethic i think has really declined compared to what it you used to be in this country. It seems like now adays that we get everything handed to us and that we dont have to wrok at all.
Latly, yes i think businesses do out source to save money but im not sure if it is always a good decision oon their half.
well i agree with what everyone has said so far. America is lazy and we feel that things are going to just pop out of the sky right in front of our faces. When in actuality we should work harder to get better jobs and then maybe other countries would want to outsource more to America. If everyone persisted there would be less laziness and people would feel accomplished at earning their money
i think the american work ethic has gotten worse over the past two decades, the outsourcing of jobs does not just have to do with cost, it has to do with the laziness of the average american. i realize i may be stereotyping but, i believe that americans have gotten really lazy. our work ethic compared to other countries is horrible. other countries may be behind us economically, but they're catching up fast.
I have to agree with sarah. The american worth ethic has gotten worse because of how lazy americans have been the past decades. People in other countries don't have as much technology as america so they haven't gotten as lazy and work much harder
I agree with everyone before me on the state of America's work ethic, however I do not agree on the cause. A lot of people have mentioned advances in technology as the main cause for the decrease in our work ethic, but the countries we are outsourcing and offshoring to also have these same technologies and they're more hardworking than ever. I think the cause of our waning work ethic is a mindset that since we are in America everything will come to us. And in a flat world, that is simply not true. And yes, our work ethic does play a role in the prominence of outsourcing.
Everyone who has blogged before me seems to have the same opinion as i do. America has become not so dependent on its workers, and just expects the work to get done on its own, which is not true at all. if you compare other countries with America, we are lazy and selfish. like China or Japan. they study so hard every day and night. Americans do not. I think many companies outsource money to save money as Jake said.
I think the work ethic has changed drastically. It seems that people these days expect things to get handed to them or for things to come easily with no work required, and i think that if this were say forty or fifty years ago that would't fly at all and the people with that kind of attitude would be out of work and in major need of an attitude adjustment. But i agree with what blake said about the hard times now maybe getting people to change.
Yes there is a difference during the past two decade over the american work ethics. Like Sam said, things that were harder to get are easier and cheaper to get now because of the new technology. America is lazier compared to Japan and China, we aren't striving for anything new like we use to, we're kinda staying the same, unlike Japan and China Or India. They have the brains and motivation and they're going for something new all the time, something that America should do.
I agree with most of the comments. I do think that American work ethics have changed over the past 20 years. One of the major reasons is the technological advances that we've had. Twenty years ago, in order to buy things you want, you have to drive to the mall, buy the item, and drive back. Today, you can just go to your computer, click on the item you want, and someone will deliver it to you. As the technology advances, people will have to do less and less.
America has it easier than other countries. An example would be a developing country. Most citizens of those type of countries work their ***es off, but only get enough money to feed their family. They cannot even afford proper housing, so how could they buy a computer?
Outsourcing does play a role besides lowering costs. Outsourcing gives citizens of other countries jobs. It makes money for the company AND for the working people of the outsourced country.
I think that America has just gotten lazy. We have the mindset that if they don't get something done, somebody else will fix it. We think that computers and technology can do all of our work for us, and we can just sit back and watch everything get done. In some other countries, people don't have technology to rely on, and this forces them to become better workers. They realize that if they don't get the job done, nobody else will, so they make sure they get a lot done. They do all of this for a much smaller salary than most Americans too. Outsourcing serves many purposes, besides cutting costs. It gives oppurtunities to people in other countries who need a job, and makes work easier for people in America.
I agree with...well pretty much every other blog that has been posted on this topic. Americans have become lazy over the years. Over in India people are doing our work and are getting paid half of what we do. They are working even harder then us for less money. They are thankful for having a job. Us being lazy has contributed to the increase in outsourcing. Why pay a lazy American more when a thankful,hardworking Indian will do it for less? Helps with cost and overall production. I think that our generation may still have a chance though. We've been hearing about the economy and how countries like Japan and China are rapidly closing in on us. Hopefully this is the awakening we need to get out there and work. Americans need to stop being lazy and pick up their work ethic. No pain no gain.
i believe that there is great difference in the American work ethic right now then in the past 2 decades. Now that our world is globalizing more and more many Americans believe that they can just "slack off" and let other people, or machines, do it for them.
In other countries, i think people work a lot harder then people here in American do for the same thing. In Anerica, we are very privilaged and givin the right to do and have a lot of things. In other countries, many of the things we take for granted here, people are working night and day to achieve.
I think this plays a huge roll in outsourcing because of the fact that we do send many things that could be done [here in America] over seas to bo done by someone else. So i believe that it is just as much, or even more our fault then it is the prices and costs of things.
I feel that since the USSR fell, Americans have felt secure in there standing at number one in the world so they have not tried very hard at all. The growing up generation also has access to a lot more entertainment so I think that has a big effect on what we spend our time on.
I agree with everyone else, America has gotten to be pretty lazy. With all of the computer software it seems like we can almost do anything from our computer. In other countries people work alot harder and get payed less. Since we are so lazy and want to make so much money companies are starting to outsource their products and are getting their products made for cheaper and they are better quality.
I believe their is a differnece because people today are in the mind set that since they live in America things are easy to get. But what they dont know is that if they want what they want out of life it takes work.
I believe that in certain countries their is better work ethic but i also believe that we do have a better work ethic than some. So we arent the best but deffinatly not the worst.
Yes i do belive it has partially to do with out-souring. We are to LAZY to do the boring work and we think we can do so much better but we dont work for it.
I'm going to agree with the general consensus here, yes America is lazy. I liked Ben's comment about how the parents in the Depression Era taught their children responsibility and the generations that came after - I think that comment was dead on. But even today it happens on a much smaller level. I know that I've been raised to understand that if I'm ever going to want anything, I'm going to have to work my butt off for it. So many people today just get whatever they want from their parents and that attitude carries on later into life.
Last summer I had a part time job working with my mom, and part of my paycheck was taken to be given to those on welfare. Now, I'm not bashing parents on welfare, because in some cases families may need it - but it's the people who are too lazy to work 40 hours a week to make the money they need that seriously tick me off! What they are doing is STEALING from the fraction of the American workforce that is actually out earning their money! This is what our liberal government is turning America into - people who sit around doing nothing and expect others to do their work for them! That way, all of the people on welfare turn around and depend more on the government. The government grows and becomes more powerful, and I can guarantee you now - if it continues, we're going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble withing the next couple of years.
There's a simple solution. Be responsible, and motivate yourself. For the sake of this nation, be a noncomformist and lead the way.
To answer the second part of the question, I again am going to agree with the majority opinion. Compared to most other countries, America is subpar. In all honesty, I find it repulsive and disgusting that people can only motivate themselves to do maybe half of what they're capable of, then demand luxuries and conveniences when they absolutely DO NOT deserve them! What is wrong with people these days? Everyone can't be THAT selfish....?
I believe that people these days dont try when it comes to work because they have been given or provided with everything their whole lives and they feel like everything is going to be done for them forever and that they dont have to work hard for anything. I also believe that is the parents fault by giving and providing their kids with everything and not preparing them for the future. People in other countries like india or china work harder because they dont get what they want and they understand that everything is earned so they are more motivated to work.
People being more motivated and hardworking in other countries is another reason for outsourcing other than simply bottom line costs.
20 years ago people worked very hard for there money, poeple today just do as little as they think they can get by because our nation is getting lazier each generation but is also getting smarter with the technology. We can do things today in an hour which 20 years ago might have taken us 10 hours.
Yes, I think that as Americans we have become very lazy. Over the past 2 decades things have been more available to us, and we do not work as hard.
We work less harder than most countries when it comes to jobs, and they get paid a lot less.
I think that outsourcing does play a role, its all about how much money we make.
In my opinion the democrats want to make people relient on government.Govenor Tim Pawlenty wanted to scale back welfare handouts but was unable to because if he had done so Minnesota would have lost money from the stimulus package. It seems as if the Democrats want to destroy the work ethic by trying to give people everything they want.
but if this answer must be related to the book, i think its because there was less people on welfare back then, which pretty much means they were less lazy back then
most Americans are flat out lazy. two decades ago people were working the butts off to try and get ahead and along with the technological advances the U.S of A has been on top basically since WWII and now we as Americans have become comfortable with that but now other countries are challenging us and some of us are letting it happen, which is not good we as Americans need to step up
What's up with America doing nothing these days? i though we were a hardworking nation and this book says all we do is sit around and have other countries do our work while we reap the benefits. America really sucks.
I agree with that Americans have gotten much more lazier over the years. 20 years ago people worked much harder. Also there are a lot of machines that do a lot of the work now, which i think is one reason why Americans are getting lazier with work cause they have machines doing most of the work. Also America has been at the top for along time so us Americans think we can just sit back and relax because we have been up high for so long but if we don't start working harder and more we wont be at the top anymore and many countries will beat us.
I think there is a great change in work ethic over the past two decades, coming now for most everyone just becoming lazy, and expecting things. Other countries have a great stride for things, which in turn is helping them catch up to us on many levels.
Post a Comment