Essay #3Most people have to work for a living tosurvive and to provide. Many jobs have regular hours, but some —likejournalism, medicine and high-level management—are more predictable and mayrequire far more time. Work can be easy or stressful, depending on what kind ofwork we do, how we convey it on our shoulders, and associate it with our dailylives. What makes these jobs interesting, are the companies or employers theoreticallymakes the work environment safe, friendly and well managed. Employers should atleast bring some kind of magic into the work environment, and make others fell likehome to encouraged workers to work harder and increase productivity. Employersuse morality to improve the American workplace by instituting trustworthiness,good morals and ethics, and leadership. Introducing trustworthy individuals in awork place helps establish a model to follow in a working environment.
In thearticle “The Company Man” written by Ellen Goodman, an American and PulitzerPrize-winning columnist who was born in Boston in 1941, defines workaholic byoffering a poignant example. The Company Man named Phil, worked himself todeath because of career goals and family responsibility. Phil was an excellentboss that “He was, however, one of six-vice presidents, and one of three whomight conceivably—if the president died or retired soon enough— have movedto the top spot.
Phil knew that” (Goodman 452). He worked six days a week, fiveof them until eight or nine at night which are extremely long hours resultingto lack of sleep. An individual like him is very trustworthy and more likely tobe looked favorably upon because they have established themselves as someone whofollows through of what they say and what they will do. Also, in an article byJodi Kantor and David Streitfeld titled “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas ina Bruising Workplace,” It explains how the company is conducting an experimentin how far it can push white-collar workers to get them to achieve itsever-expanding ambitions.
An employee named Dina Vaccari who joined in 2008 tosell amazon gift cards to other companies said one time she didn’t sleep forfour days straight, “These businesses were my babies, and I did whatever Icould to make them successful” (Kantor and Streitfeld). One time she uses herown money without asking approval, to pay a freelancer in India to enter dataso she could get more done. Vaccari, did what she did, whatever it takes.
Sheis a reliable, dependable trustworthy individual person who goes to the extremeto take care of business showing dedication and hard work habits even with lackof sleep.Establishing good morale and work ethicscan simply motivate others around and help improve self-esteem in theworkplace. In the article “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a BruisingWorkplace,” Susan Harker, Amazon’s top recruiter said, when you’re shooting tothe moon, the nature of the work is really challenging. For some people itdoesn’t work.
“In interviews, some said they thrive at amazon precisely becauseit pushed them past what they thought were their limits” (Kantor and Streitfeld). While some individuals try to get by doing aslittle work as possible, others possess a dedication that leads them to give ittheir all every day. People who possess a strong work ethic exemplify certainprinciples that guide their work behavior, leading them to produce exceptionalwork consistently and without the nudging that some employees need to stay on path.Ina work place like Amazon, when you bump into a wall, the only solution is to passthe wall whatever it takes, and that is why moral and work ethics are of themost important characteristics to overcome the wall. To work in a tough and demandingenvironment is not easy and most people can’t, but having such identities ofmorale and work ethics enable us to endure, and often times brings the best inourselves to be creative, because everyone has the motion and mindset to adopt.
In another online article titled “Five Characteristics of a Good Work Ethic” byErin Schreiner, she writes, “Those with good work ethics often also possessgenerally strong character. This means they are self-discipline, pushingthemselves to complete work tasks instead of requiring others to intervene”(Schreiner). Consistencygoes hand in hand with a good work ethic. If individuals with a good work ethicsay they are going to finish the work or arrive at a certain time, they do, asthey value reliability.
Individuals with a strong work ethic are very reliable,showing their employers that they are workers to whom they can trust. Becauseof this, they put effort into portraying — and proving — this dependabilityby being reliable and performing consistently. Evolving strong charismais mainly due to good morale and ethics and, when others see that, they too areinspired to push themselves to work better. Creating leadership in a workplace willimpact the work environment to move in the right direction. Quoting back to thearticle “The Company Man,” by Ellen Goodman, she writes, “He had a lot ofpeople working for him, maybe sixty and most of them liked him most of the time”(Goodman 452).
This is the man that because of his strong leadership, he workshimself to death. At the funeral, the company president told Helen the widow,that Phil’s death had mean much to the company and would be miss and would behard to replace. People gravitate towards people who have great influence. Byhaving many people working under his leadership is an example of a very strong characterand personality, which is ultimately admire by everyone. Also, once again,quoting back from the article “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a BruisingWorkplace” The article talks about Jeff Bezo the founder of Amazon with hisphilosophy of work and how he turned to data-driven management very early. “Hewas ten at the time. Decades later, he created a technological and retail giantby relying on some of the same impulses: eagerness to tell others how to behave;an instinct for bluntness bordering on confrontation; an overarching confidencein the power of metrics” (Kantor and Streitfeld).
The result was the leadershipprinciples, the articles of faith that describe the way Amazonians should act.Compared to some other companies where declaration about their philosophyamount to vague platitudes, Amazon has rules that are part of its dailylanguage and rituals, used in hiring, cited at meetings and quoted in foodtrucks lines at lunchtime. Some Amazonians say they teach them to theirchildren. In conclusion, companies or employers usedmorality to improve the American workplace by instituting trustworthiness, goodmorals and ethics, and leadership. According to Kantor and Streitfeld “motivatingthe amabots,” some company veterans often say the genius of amazon is the wayit drives them to drive themselves. One employee said If you’re a goodAmazonian, you become an amabot, using a term that means you have become one ofthe system.
It is clear that when employers stablished a clear guidelines andpolicies at work, these guidelines conjure an empire of elite workers anddevelop the best. The workplace should be infused with transparency andprecision about who is really achieving and who is not. Employers use morality tosend a good and positive message to amplify the work environment and get themready for the day. With positive thought and positive attitude, employees areable to work more efficiently and effectively.
