Work ethic, where’s it come from and what feeds or hurts the drive to be anything but lazy.
The fire in the belly fuel to go above and beyond. How do you create and maintain that productive work ethic laboring spirit that just won’t quit? I don’t know about you, but during my childhood raised on a Maine farm, the parents did a stellar job. Creating a desire to work hard and do a good job at the family home, school, out in the work force, in your community.
They worked long hours and we knew no different but did not feel picked on. It made us resourceful, independent, sometimes glad to be done a job like picking field rocks. But we did it. Other kids in small Maine towns did too.
You’ve all heard the story about anyone from Maine applying for a job out of state was hired instantly. It’s no secret about Maine’s work ethic.
Daily, my three older brothers and I witnessed Mom and Dad working hard daily on the Maine farm.
Both parents grew up on dairy farms where everyone in the large families works vital roles. When you are around hard workers, you are taught the importance of carrying your part of the load.
How to save steps to do the work of two. You don’t want to be labeled “lazy”. You don’t just work, you want to be the best at the labor.
Standing around watching someone working their guts out is not fun or comfortable. The pitch in and help out gene activates when you grow up in rural Maine. Where money is tight and frugality is a survival sport, As you got older in a Maine household where your parents owned and ran a Mom and Pop business, the list of duties increased right along with the new skills added to your resume.
When your Mom or Dad praise you for doing a good job, completing the task well it makes you beam.
Causing pride and to feel worthwhile appreciated is a warm sunshine feeling. When told we can count on you Sonny. To realize you and your brothers, all the kids in this Maine household are a vital part of the family. Where I need you and vice versa and everyone works together. All the cylinders firing in order, on the same page for the common skills to get the job done. Before moving on to the next items on the lengthy chore list. Don’t waste the daylight.
Work ethic, local farmers in my area hired kids to pick potatoes in the fall, to put up loads to ship down the road over the winter.
Not everyone was lucky enough to grow up on a Maine farm. But that did not mean jobs to earn money were not in abundance in our small rural area of the Pine Tree state. My Dad swore that kids did a better job handling the potatoes than mechanized harvesters. He raised 250 acres of golden spuds. All the crop hand harvested with four baskets in a barrel. Then pickers adding their ticket number in the groove slot on the top.
Eight row crop harvesters cover a lot of acreage quickly but leave boat loads of potatoes behind of all sizes. The rough handling damages the soft skin with cuts and bruises. That impacts the value in storage and out on the market later on. The produce buyer pays less for lower quality potatoes.
But back to today, work ethic, how is it viewed in society? What is happening to it as a highly sought after commodity when hiring your work force? There are cracks in the give it all your got in the work place. (more…)
