Reviving Work Ethic: A Leader's Guide to Ending Entitlement and Restoring Pride in the Emerging Workforce [Hardcover]

Eric Chester (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2012

For frustrated managers and leaders, a guide to instilling a strong work ethic in the modern workforce.

Work ethic in America is fast declining, plaguing young and old alike. But in Reviving Work Ethic, Eric Chester shows that you do best to focus on your young employees--those whose habits and ideals can still be influenced. He presents an incisive look at the root of the entitlement mentality that afflicts many in the emerging workforce and shows readers the specific actions they can take to give their employees a deep commitment to performing excellent work.

And his advice is crucial to a healthy bottom line: too often, talented-but-difficult-to-understand younger workers stand between your company and its profits. If business owners, managers, and executives are not connecting with them and modeling the key components of work ethic, employees are likely not connecting effectively with customers--leaving all kinds of money on the table.

Reviving Work Ethic is the culmination of years of research as well as presentations to over two million youth. Chester's experience shows in his confident analysis of the seven components of work ethic and in his proven strategies for handing them down to young employees.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Too many young people are under the impression that work is a four-letter word; something to be avoided. Chester shows leaders how to get inside their heads--and their hearts--and get them to take pride in their work and perform at their best.'' --Ron Boire, president and CEO, Brookstone

''Eric has distilled his vast experience into a timely and concise book that will be very valuable to anyone who wants to improve the performance of young people in today's workforce. This is a must-read for managers, teachers, and parents.'' --Ted Fowler, president and CEO, Golden Corral

''Nothing beats hard work, and never will. The problem is that it is in short supply. In this wonderful book Eric Chester lays out the path to getting back to basics and unleashing winning behaviors in your workforce. Read it, study it and then DO IT! It will make you a better leader.'' --Chester Elton, coauthor of best-selling The Orange Revolution and The Carrot Principle

''Chester certainly has a handle on driving performance through the emerging workforce. And with the diminishing work ethic being such a pressing concern for leaders, the timeliness of this book couldn't be better.'' --Donald Broman, president, Snap On Industrial

''No one knows the emerging workforce better than Eric Chester. He's spot on when it comes to the challenge leaders face for improving work ethic and restoring pride, and he offers advice that is both practical and solid.'' --Joseph M. DePinto, president and CEO, 7-Eleven

About the Author

Eric Chester is an acclaimed expert in school-to-work transition. He has presented for more than two million youth at 1,500 high schools and colleges and has spoken to hundreds of leading companies and organizations that rely on teens and young adults as their front line workforce. Chester is the author four books, most recently Getting Them to Give a Damn and has coauthored eight others. He's the founder of the Bring Your ''A'' Game to Work youth training and certification program and is the president of Reviving Work Ethic, Inc., a speaking and consulting firm.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press (January 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608322424
• ISBN-13: 978-1608322428
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 5.2 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book exactly right for the times... January 3, 2012

By Brian S. Walter

Too many of our youth don't put enough WORK into their work. It's not simply a case that they are avoiding the OVERwork of their divorced or extremely unhappy parents. They just don't apply themselves at a level worthy of the compensation they are being paid. Eric Chester's new book on the Work Ethic (the first in nearly a century) doesn't just outline the problem...he provides solutions. What more could you want from a timely business book?

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Now you'll know what to do January 3, 2012

By Mitchell Gooze

If you're fed up with the entitlement mentality of the young workers in your organization, stop bellyaching and do something about it! This book is a great place to start as it defines the mysterious term of work ethic, explains in great detail what has happened to the work ethic in America, and, most importantly, it reveals what leaders can do to inspire people to want to work harder and live up to an acceptable standard of values. Reviving Work Ethic is more than the title of a book; it's a long overdue battle cry!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviving Work Ethic April 23, 2013

By Mark Newton

This is the second semester that I have assigned "Reviving Work Ethic" to my college students in my Supervision and Leadership class. This book is so much better than a text book for several reasons: 1) Students love reading this book (You don't get that in text books). 2) Because students read this book, classroom discussions are much more engaging. 3) Student learn about the importance of work ethics from an employee and employer perspective. 4) This book is extremely practical and not a bunch of theory!!! 5) The book deals with important performance issues that leaders (and students) face daily. 6) Values such as attitude, reliability and integrity are important components of the book. You cannot talk about values enough to college students. 7) "Reviving Work Ethic" allows students to look at performance challenges through the eyes of employers. Supervision and Leadership is all about performance challenges. 8) This book actually helps students find employment.
Thanks to Eric Chester for delivering the goods. I would highly recommend this book not just to all college students but especially to people in leadership positions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! April 22, 2013

By Mike Nelson

I'm a student in the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management degree program at Gwinnett Technical College. This book was an assigned textbook for my Supervision and Leadership in Hospitality class. I have to say that it is the best book that I have ever read for school! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would have gladly read it on my own time. It really speaks to someone of my generation (the millennial generation)about the importance of hard work and ethics. This book provides a great plan for developing these ethics. Great read, I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Singular focus on new, young workers April 1, 2013

By Nathan Ives

Reviving Work Ethic by Eric Chester provides actionable methods organization leaders can employ to instill within their young workers the strong work ethic foundational to America's market success. He begins by categorizing young workers on a cognizance and compliance scale; later revealing what leaders must do to imbue workers within each quadrant with a strong work ethic. Eric clearly defines this target ethic as being comprised of a positive attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity, and gratitude. He closes by highlighting the value proposition of a workforce characterize by a strong work ethic.

I like Reviving Work Ethic because of the actionable insights provided to imbue workers with a strong work ethic. Unique to this writing is the cognizance and compliance matrix that provides an excellent starting point from which leaders can specifically tailor their actions to individual employees. I further appreciate Eric's deliberate definition and influencing actions associated with each aspect of work ethic. His attention to defining work ethic, employee conversation starters, action tips, and work ethic value proposition tables, contribute to the completeness of this book and make it ideal for new and experience leaders alike.

If I had one criticism of Reviving Work Ethic it would be Eric's singular focus on new workers. I believe to varying degrees and for differing reasons workers of all ages and experience levels have a sense of entitlement. Furthermore, I believe workers from all generations can be found in each quadrant of Eric's cognizance-compliance matrix.... Thus, while I agree younger workers may be more easily influenced, I feel it is a leader's responsibility to attempt to instill a strong work ethic within all workers and to take appropriate action to hold those accountable who do not demonstrate these desirable characteristics.

A strong work ethic is critical to individual and organizational success. Leaders must act to imbue their subordinates with these admirable characteristics. Because of its clarity and immediately actionable methods to instill a strong work ethic within workers, Reviving Work Ethic is a StrategyDriven recommended read.

All the Best,
Nathan Ives
StrategyDriven Principal Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A no nonsense take on improving work ethic November 30, 2012

By Jay Oza

Disclaimer: I received this book from the 12booksgroup.com club to help with the discussion of this book during the month of November 2012 and provide a review in several places, including Facebook, Goodreads.com, Amazon, Twitter, LinkedIn and my web site.

The book "Reviving Work Ethic" has a very good message in how to get people, especially young people, to develop a work ethic which has been a bedrock of America's economic success, i.e, people working hard everyday to earn a good living, take care of their family and elevate themselves. It is a core American value that is taught from childhood.

The author argues that we are losing this core value as he has been observing (based on his extensive research, varied experience and numerous speaking engagements with young people) that we are becoming an entitlement society -- people wanting and expecting things without really working hard for it.

So, how do you fix this?

The book recommends that we need to revive our work ethic which has made American economic success an envy of the world and help build a thriving middle class. It is a simple message, presented in a no nonsense way in a readable form supported by plenty of real world examples.

The book is well organized in that the author first clearly states the problem of lack of work ethic in our society. He cites, according to the Rasmussen poll, that "58% of adults don't think work ethic will pay off, and another 16% weren't sure." He further adds that "adults eighteen to twenty-nine were by far the most pessimistic age group on the topic of work ethic."

Next, he defines work ethic as "knowing what to do and not doing it.... It is marked by an individual's positive attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity, and gratitude."

Before he explains in detail each of the attributes of good work ethic, he develops a work ethic matrix to illustrate where people are falling today in this quadrant, which include the following: idle, lucky, cheating and valued. By following the solid work ethic principles, an individual can gradually move to the coveted Valued Quadrant and become the kind of employee that employers want to hire and keep, while at the same time the employee can become a productive member of the society who has extricated himelf from an entitlement mindset.

Where the book falls short is that the author does not go deeper into the cause of disillusionment among people, especially young people, entering work force today. The problem is that there is lack of trust between an employer and an employee today. The employees are noticing that having excellent work ethic is not going to prevent an employer from outsourcing his job or replace it with automation. This is the new reality that employees face today; hence, it has resulted in the breakdown of trust between an employer and employee which is not easily fixable by enforcing work ethic.

One of the main reason for this distrust has to do with young people seeing every day that leadership around them is failing. For example, our political leaders care more about getting re-elected rather than solving intractable problems we face today; business leaders are more interested in generating excessive profits over people and community; and military leaders being caught up in an inappropriate relationship while on duty. This does not engender trust.

Notwithstanding my criticism of this book, overall I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars, since it is an important topic and the author does a good job in presenting it. The book is short and quite readable with practical examples. I recommend it for people who want to get a fresh outlook on work ethic so they can better understand it and instill it at their workplace. Read more ›