STRONG WORK ETHIC

Are you motivated and dedicated to getting the job done, no matter what? Will you be conscientious and do your best work?

Developing a good work ethic begins during the educational process. As you go to school for an education to further your career, you can build a good work ethic through your study habits. If you are working while you attend school, this is another way to develop a good work ethic and learn multi-tasking before you enter your career of choice. Distance learning opportunities give you the chance to develop your own work ethic because they are self-motivated and flexible.

1. Resolve yourself that work is exactly what the name implies. Although you may enjoy your work and even find it fun, it is still work and you need to approach it with a positive attitude and have outstanding ethics.
    
2.  To practice developing your own work ethic, explore distance-learning opportunities. Distance learning requires you to develop your own curriculum and be self-motivated which help you to learn great work habits you can take into the professional arena.
    
3. Get a part-time job while you are attending distance learning courses. Juggling your education and a part-time job will prepare you for a busy work world that insists on multi-tasking.
    
4. Having a part-time job and paying toward your distance-learning expenses also give you valuable experience with budgeting and handling money, which is essential in the working world.
    
5. Write down your most successful approaches to distance learning school assignments and your job. By writing down little techniques that helped you juggle your academic life, you can refer to this journal when you are employed in your career of choice to see what worked for you during stressful times in the past.[1]

But after you finish your educational career, what kind of work ethic will be expected of you in the workplace?  Research has shown that the many characteristics of work ethic can be summarized using three terms:

1. Interpersonal skills
2. Initiative
3. Being dependable

First, interpersonal skills.  There are five basic interpersonal skills that every person should develop and maintain for success in the office (learn more about each point in this article[2]):

1. Do not criticize - offer solutions to problems.
2. Do not use others as a stepping-stone or take all the credit for a group effort.
3. Develop good meeting techniques.
4. Carry through with your commitments.
5. Focus on the goal or problem - do not make it personal.

Secondly, how can you learn to take initiative without being overbearing or ineffective?  Simply put, to take initiative is to do what needs to be done without having to be told. Yet, on the job, there is more to it.  Here are a few tips for starters, or learn more here.[3]

1. Be motivated.
2. Act without being told.
3. Ask necessary questions.
4. Finish a task, then ask for more.
5. Avoid being idle or wasting time on the job.
6. Don’t become a workaholic.

Finally, the best employees are dependable.  Assess your own personal work ethic by taking this Occupational Work Ethic Inventory (OWEI).[4]

It’s also important to understand how toxic behavior can lead to sinful behavior at work.  Learn more about the effect of the “seven deadly sins” in the workplace in this article.[5]

Watch this short clip[6] for some perspective on developing a marketable work ethic.