Work Ethic: Employers Can Improve Performance of Millennial Employees by Teaching Work Ethic, Says Leadership Expert Eric Chester

New Book, "Reviving Work Ethic," Offers Insights to Motivate Gen Y Workers

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Jan 04, 2012, 08:15 ET

DENVER, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The sad state of the work ethic for millennials is in the news these days as politicians, business owners, and managers wrestle with young workers they perceive as "entitled employees."

"Work ethic among teens and twentysomethings has flatlined," said Eric Chester, an expert on motivating young employees and the author of the newly released book, Reviving Work Ethic: A Leader's Guide to Ending Entitlement and Restoring Pride in the Emerging Workforce. Whether you call them "millennials," "Gen Y," or something else, business leaders and employers everywhere lament that they may have an education and technology skills, but they don't have the work ethic that is required to be successful in today's workplace.

Reviving Work Ethic is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The first three chapters can be downloaded for free by going to Chester's Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/RevivingWorkEthic, and clicking the "Like" button.

Chester, an expert in school-to-work transition, consults with companies that hire young workers, such as banks, restaurants, retailers, and call centers. He says he routinely hears the same comments from employers in a variety of industries who complain about "trophy kids" who feel entitlement in the workplace when they transition from school to work:

They're not reliable.
They don't take pride in their work.
They act entitled.
They won't disengage from cell phones and social networks when they're on company time.

Chester offers five strategies to employers who want to revive work ethic in their organization and who ask, "How can I motivate employees?"

1. Carefully examine the core values that you demand from every employee. Create a definitive list of no more than ten, starting with the non-negotiables of honesty, reliability, respect and professionalism.

2. Revisit your hiring process to see how you're evaluating job candidates based upon these values. Make certain you're asking questions that get them to describe in detail how their past work-related performance demonstrates the values you hold sacred (e.g. "Tell me about a time when you overcame a significant challenge to finish a project on schedule." "Give me an example of a rule or policy in a previous job you found stupid. Did you comply with it?")

3. Examine your training program to see how you can integrate these concepts into your present skills training. Remember: it's not enough to simply mention values or provide a warning to those who do not exhibit them. For the values to be internalized, they must be integrated into training and daily mentorship.

4. Take significant measures to foster a workplace culture that is centered around your non-negotiable core work ethic values. Begin meetings by allowing employees to share personal examples of how they went out of their way for a customer, overcame a challenge to arrive at work on time, chose to do "the difficult right" as opposed to "the easy wrong." Share your own stories as well.

5. Celebrate work ethic. Talk about people (employees, associates, even celebrities) who you believe exhibit great work ethic and provide examples. When you see great work ethic exemplified by your employees, recognize and reward it with praise, awards, impromptu celebrations, or even incentives. Remember that what gets rewarded gets repeated.

"It's time to stop complaining about the lack of work ethic you see in your emerging workforce and take steps to revive it. The payoff is huge. After all, your future depends on your ability to instill within them the work ethic they should have learned at home and school, but didn't," said Chester, who interviewed more than 1,500 employers and business owners to understand what work ethic looks like from their perspective.

"In this tumultuous employment climate, I can tell you who's getting hired and promoted in one sentence: employers are actively seeking out positive, enthusiastic people who show up for work on time, who are dressed and prepared properly, who go out of their way to add value and do more than what's required of them, who are honest, who will play by the rules, and who will give cheerful, friendly service regardless of the situation," he said. "We can shorten the summation by defining each value with these seven terms: attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity, and gratitude."

Chester offers this career advice for young workers:

Eliminate things that demotivate you.
Get out of the mindset that 'you're stuck.' You can work harder to get a promotion or take classes to learn a new skill.
Work like you're showing off.

For information, go to http://www.RevivingWorkEthic.com.

To see the book trailer, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h8Su5TiNv8.

Contact:
Lori Ames, ThePRFreelancer
[email protected]
631-539-4558

SOURCE Eric Chester