Work Ethics What is it and do I have it?. What is work ethics? Work Ethics is a combination of your values, personality, attitude and pride in your work

Work Ethics

What is it and do I have it?

What is work ethics?

Work Ethics is a combination of your values, personality,

attitude and pride in your work.

Very important!

Tools may or may not be provided on the job but…

Appropriate behavior is a job requirement along with good work ethics in all occupations.

Word Wall

By the end of this lesson, you should have a good understanding of the importance of these words in relation to your future career.

Work Ethics

Behaviors

AcceptableAttendanceTeamworkAttitude

Cooperation

Organizational Skills

CharacterAppearance

Productivity

RespectCommunication

Pride

Work Ethics

• How one feels about his/her career.• How one does his/her job or responsibilities.• Involves attitudes, behaviors, respect, communication

and interactions.• Involves characteristics such as honesty and

accountability• Demonstrates many things about whom and how a

person is.• We should not only want to do, but desire to do the

proper (right) thing in any given situation.

Key to Success

Good Work Ethics are

required for a successful

future!

The Number 1 priority of Georgia’s employers is to improve the work ethics of present and future employees.

• Employers are expressing concerns that a strong work ethic is increasingly difficult to find among employees and job applicants.

• Two statewide surveys of Georgia employers also identified interpersonal skills and positive attitudes toward work as among the most important qualifications in hiring workers. (Occupational Research Group, 1996, 1997).

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 80 percent of workers who lose their

jobs do so not because of lack of occupational skills, but because of

poor work ethics.

The magnitude of this issue

mandates immediate attention.

What can we do?

How can we assess work ethics in school?

How do we help ALL students recognize the value

of good work ethics?

Score yourself on each item using the numbers below

• 0 = unacceptable• 1 = needs improvement• 2 = meets expectations• 3 = exceeds expectations

EXPLAIN the 0, 1, 2, and 3

• Most students think that they are exceeding expectations when they do what is expected. They do not understand that to do what they are asked to do is meeting expectations and not exceeding expectations.

• Read the following tasks as examples to be sure that you understand what it is to exceed expectations.

• Remember to try and rate yourself on the items that apply. Are you exceeding expectations?

• The students may develop an example task with elements for 0, 1, 2 and 3.

Task – Going on a date

• 0 – honk horn out front of their house, not enough money to pay for the meal, run out of gas

• 1 – pick her up at the door, do not talk to parents, go to eat, pay for meal, no money for tip, take her home

• 2 – pick her up at the door, greet parents politely, ask her where she would like to eat, pay for meal, leave tip, drive her home, walk her to the door

• 3 – Pick her up at the door, greet parents politely, open car door, ask her where she would like to eat, drive to restaurant, open car door, open restaurant door, pull out chair, polite conversation, pay for meal, leave tip, open door, open car door, drive her home, open the car door, walk her to the door

Task - Arriving to Class

• 0 – arrive late, no paper or no pencil• 1 – arrive on time with paper and pencil, but talking as you enter

the room to take a seat• 2 – arrive on time with paper and pencil, not talking, take a seat,

open agenda, open notebook to a clean sheet of paper• 3 – arrive on time with paper and 2 sharpened pencils/pens, not

talking, open agenda, open notebook and put name and date on top of your paper, begin sponge activity on the board

Task - Babysitting

• 0 – arrive late, have boyfriend/girlfriend over and make out, watch inappropriate movie, lock child in room

• 1 – arrive on time, have boyfriend/girlfriend over to watch a Disney movie with child, play with child a little and then tell her to go to bed

• 2 – arrive on time, watch a Disney movie with child, read to child, play with child, bathe child, bedtime stories.

• 3 – arrive on time, watch a Disney movie with child, play act parts of movie with child, read to child, teach a lesson to child or bake cookies with child, bathe child, bedtime stories, clean kitchen after child is asleep, straighten pantry area

Task – Football Practice

• 0 – showing up late, walking, forgetting equipment, talking, making rude comments, not trying

• 1 – showing up late, jogging, have most equipment, saying things behind coaches back, not giving it your best

• 2 – showing up on time, running, having all equipment, know all plays, mouth closed except when spoken to, give it your all, drink plenty of water, following the rules and regulations

• 3 – showing up early to do some extra sprints, have all equipment, doing your best, learned all plays, giving someone else some pointers, help anyone who needs help, following all rules and regulations, get water, drink plenty of liquids, giving 100%, help managers carry equipment back to gym, help pump up all footballs after practice

According to Georgia Technical Colleges, business and industry leaders have identified essential work ethics that should be taught and practiced in order to develop a viable and effective workforce.

• Attendance • Teamwork• Attitude• Organizational Skills• Cooperation• Character• Appearance• Productivity• Communication• Respect

Rate your own Work Ethics

• Divide your paper into five sections.• At the top of the sections, enter the headings below.• Now evaluate yourself on the following items. Place check

marks into the appropriate section according to how you rate. • The technical colleges in Georgia give a work ethics grade

based on the following items along with an academic grade in every course.

Work Ethic0

Unacceptable1

Needs Improvement

2Meets

Expectations

3Exceeds

Expectations

Attendance

• Attends class• Arrives on time• Leaves on time• Notifies teacher in advance of planned absences• Excused absences only• Does not make up excuses for absences

Teamwork

• Respects the right of others• Respects confidentiality• Is a team worker• Is cooperative• Is assertive• Displays a customer service attitude• Seeks opportunities for continuous learning• Demonstrates mannerly behaviors

Attitude

• Demonstrates a positive attitude• Friendly, pleasant and kind• Appears self-confident• Has a realistic expectation of self• I can, I will, I did attitude• Others like to be around you

Organizational Skills

• Manifests skills in prioritizing and management of time and stress

• Demonstrates flexibility in handling change• Keep things neat and orderly• Uses time wisely

Cooperation

• Displays leadership skills• Appropriately handles criticism• Appropriately handles conflict• Appropriately handles complaints• Demonstrates problem-solving capability• Maintains appropriate relationships with teachers and

peers• Follows chain of command

Character

• Displays loyalty• Displays honesty• Displays trustworthiness• Displays dependability• Displays reliability• Displays initiative• Displays self-discipline• Displays self-responsibility• Control emotions and actions

Appearance

• Displays appropriate dress• Displays good grooming habits• Displays good hygiene• Displays good etiquette

Productivity

• Follows safety practices• Conserves materials• Keeps work areas neat and clean• Follows directions and procedures• Makes up assignments• Punctuality• Participation• Completes all work

Communication

• Displays appropriate nonverbal – eye contact• Displays appropriate nonverbal – body language• Displays oral listening skills• Displays appropriate telephone etiquette• Displays proper grammar in communication• Displays appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication

skills

Respect

• Deals appropriately with cultural/racial diversity• Does not engage in harassment of any kind• Uses manners around others

Interpersonal Skills

• Appreciative• Emotionally stable• Patient• Likeable• Helpful• Pleasant• Cooperative• Hard working

• Cheerful• Devoted• Courteous• Considerate

Initiative

• Independent• Ambitious• Effective• Initiating• Perceptive• Adaptable• Accurate• Conscientious

• Persevering• Orderly• Enthusiastic• Persistent• Dedicated• Productive• Resourceful

Dependability

• Dependable• Following regulations• Reliable• Honest• Careful• Punctual

Work Ethics Assessment

• Now look at your ratings of yourself.• What does it tell you?• What do you need to do?• What do you need to change?• Will you stay employed in the future?• Now develop a 5-step improvement plan for your own

work ethics.

In your lowest two areas, write a goal with the 5 W’s in a word document.

• Who – I will• What – do __________• When – by_____________• Where – at home, at school, in the community or

everywhere• Why – to improve ___________area of my work ethics

• Save this word document as “Behavior and Work Ethics”. The behavior assessment will be added to this document before it is deposited in the dropbox.

Sample goals – so you can see what you are expected to do for each of your goals. Do not use any of these; create your own goals for

your lowest areas. These are samples only.

• Who – I will • What – ask more questions • When- this nine weeks• Where- in math• Why – so I will learn the

concepts faster and make my parents proud of me.

• Who – I will • What – not use cut downs• When- this year• Where- at school• Why – so I will not hurt

someone’s feeling, and maybe have more friends.

Why teach work ethics?

• Students who begin employment with positive work ethic skills will enhance their value as an employee.

• Employers desire and acquire employees with desirable work habits.

“Why young people fail today – work ethics.” Wendy Worthington, Retail Sales

“With a positive attitude, I can teach you everything you need to know about this

company.” What type of attitude do you have?

Behavior Assessment

• You will now complete a behavior assessment to evaluate your own behavior in different categories.

Number your paper 1-40 in sets of five.

1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36

2 7 12 17 22 27 32 37

3 8 13 18 23 28 33 38

4 9 14 19 24 29 34 39

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

*** This will be added to your work ethics assessment and improvement plan.

Using this scale, assess the following 40 items about yourself.

• 0 = Never true• 1 = True about 33% of the time• 2 = True about 66% of the time• 3 = True all the time 100% of the time

Listening, Understanding, and Following Directions

1. I actually listen to the teacher’s direction every time.

2. I tune out distractions so it is easy for me to listen when I am given instructions or directions.

3. I paraphrase what I hear before I ask questions when I am not sure about something.

4. I use prior knowledge to help me understand written directions.

5. In school, I read and re-read written directions before asking questions.

0 = Never 1 = 1/3 of time 2 = 2/3 of time 3 = all of the time

Cooperation

6. I’m a good team player and it is easy to work with other students on big projects.

7. I do not pout when I loose. I get along with others when playing games.

8. I ask for other’s opinions and I offer my help. 9. I get along well with my entire family.10. I get along with all of my teachers and other

adults in the school building.


Dependability

11. I have perfect attendance or I’m never absent except for an unavoidable emergency.

12. I do all of my homework in every class, every day.

13. If I cannot meet a person on time, I call to let the person know that I will be running a little late.

14. I work well without parent and/or teacher supervision. I stay on the assigned task.

15. I welcome responsibility and do all of my chores at home.


Initiative

16. When I see something that needs to be done, I do it if I can. (pick up trash from the hall, wash dirty dishes, etc.)

17. At home, I do more chores than I am asked to do. 18. I finish my school projects and assignments and

turn them in before it is due.19. I do not wait to be told what to do; I ask if I can do

extra work at home and at school.20. I search for new things to learn each day.


Eagerness to Learn

21. I’m industrious; learning something new makes me feel good.

22. I love to meet challenges and I enjoy learning something new.

23. I show a desire to learn. I want to learn more in every class.

24. I don’t wait for reminders to do a task; I get started as soon as it is assigned.

25. I love to share my ideas with other people.


Loyalty

26. I offer a helping hand whenever possible. 27. I will always try to help my friends, co-workers,

and teachers do well by performing well at my task.

28. I do not talk about, or gossip about, other people.

29. I say only good things about my teachers, parents and school to my friends.

30. When a friend tells me something and asks me not to tell others, I always keep the secret. (This does not include dangerous situations.)


Honesty

31. I know the difference between right and wrong and always try to what is right.

32. I always tell the truth in all situations.33. When I find something that someone lost, I return it

if I can. (You’re walking in the parking lot, find a wallet with $200 cash and a driver’s license in it. Do you return it?)

34. I do my own work on all of my tests. I never look over to find the answers or cheat in any way.

35. I admit my mistakes openly and correct them.


Ability to Accept Criticism

36. I realize that I’m not perfect.37. When someone criticizes how I do something, I

think about how I can improve. I learn from those who criticize my efforts.

38. When someone criticizes the way I do a task, I listen politely with a positive attitude.

39. I don’t make the same mistake twice. I learn from my mistakes.

40. I keep a positive attitude when others criticize my efforts and finished tasks.


Add your scores together

• You will have a total under each section, making eight different totals.

• You will then add all of your eight totals together and have one Grand Total.

If your individual set score is 13-1513= 86.66%; 14 =93.33%; 15 =100%

• Most of the time you are exhibiting excellent behavior characteristics in these areas.

• Give yourself a star in that area and keep up the good work.

• You should be successful in the real world in the future if your behavior characteristics continue.

If your individual set score is 11-12 12=80%; 11 = 73.33%

• Most of the time you are exhibiting some good behavior characteristics in these areas.

• You have room for improvement in a few areas, but should still be able to keep your job in the real world.

If your individual set score is 9-109 = 60%; 10 = 66.66%

• You are exhibiting only fair behavior characteristics in these areas.

• You need to make some improvements to be successful in the real world of work.

• You may be trying to just slide by. Let’s start correcting these areas today.

If your individual set score is 0-88 = 53.33%; 7 = 46.66%; 6 = 40%; 5= 33.33%; 4 = 26.66%; 3 = 20%; 2 = 13.33%; 1 = 6.66%

• You have some very poor behavior characteristics in these areas.

• You need to make some major changes to these areas, starting now!

• You will find yourself unemployed in the future with these behavior characteristics. You must change those traits starting now!

• Lets develop an improvement plan today to help in correcting the unacceptable behaviors.

Now look at your overall score of all of the categories added together.

• 120 = 100%• 110 = 91.66%• 105 = 87.55• 100 = 83.33%• 95 = 79.16%• 90 = 75%• 85 = 70.83%• 80 = 66.66%• 75 = 62.5%• 70 = 58.33%• 65 = 54.16%• 60 = 50%

• 55 = 45.83%• 50 = 41.66%• 45 = 37.5%• 40 = 33.33%• 35 = 29.16%• 30 = 25%• 25 = 20.83%• What improvements do

you need to make to your overall behavior?

• Will you be able to remain employed in the future?

In your lowest two areas,write a goal with the 5 W’s.

• Who – I will• What – do __________• When – by_____________• Where – at home, at school, in the community or

everywhere• Why – to improve __________area of my work ethics.• The following slides might help you understand some of

the tasks that could be included in your goals.• You will put the “Behavior and Work Ethics” document

into the dropbox for your second assignment.

Quotes

• Manager’s statement: “With a positive attitude, I can teach you everything you need to know about this company.” What type of attitude do you have?

• Manager’s statement: “There are three important things that an employee needs when they walk through the door -- attitude, attitude and attitude -- they can learn the rest”.

Understanding and Following Directions

• Actually listen• Don’t talk• Don’t interrupt• Ask questions• Stay on task• Stay focused• Take notes• Make list of tasks• Tune out distractions• Move away from

distractions• Be specific• Be alert

• Think – how to do this• Use prior knowledge• Concentrate• Maintain eye contact• Double check when

finished• Paraphrase the

instructions• Check for understanding• Don’t be disruptive• Know where you can get

help• Read and then re-read

instructions

Dependability

• Be organized• Think ahead• Have a schedule• Do what you say• Make sure you are on time• Take responsibility• Learn to say No• Don’t gossip• Don’t spread rumors• Stay on task• Take notes• Leave messages• Use agenda daily• Don’t expect others to do

your work

• Be a positive role model• Correct negative habits• Return things you

checkout or borrow• Notify people of time

changes• Bring all materials • Acceptable behaviors• Be loyal• Responsible• Become independent• Help others• Don’t double book events• Positive attitude• Excused absences only

Initiative

• Be the best you can be• Go the extra mile• Look for things to do• Be independent• Good attitude• Do it right the first time• Check and recheck• Don’t procrastinate• Help others• Don’t waste time• Daily habit of going

beyond the regular• Do things without people

having to urge you

• Always look for ways to improve

• Ask for help when needed• Forget the “L” word - “Lazy”• Keep an eye out for

something new to do• Always have a plan• Set goals• Make lists of things to do• No long breaks• Be resourceful• Look for ways to do a better

job

Eagerness to Learn

• Develop new hobby• Read for pleasure• Develop your interest• Show desire to learn• Volunteer• Think “I Can”• Positive attitude• Ask for more work• Do extra credit• Pay attention• Meet challenges• Make adjustments• Excused absences only• Never tardy

• Study• Smile• Share new ideas• Make plans• Set goals• Reward yourself for your

accomplishments• Don’t hesitate to ask

questions• Be industrious• Concentrate• Don’t waste time• Don’t wait for reminders to

do a task• Make a good first impression

Loyalty

• Defend others• Say only nice things• Positive attitude• Respectful• Well mannered• Honest• Kind/polite• Dependable• Role model• Work fast and efficient• Get along with others• Help others

• Offer a helping hand• Have integrity• Provide hope• Be fair• Equality• Justice for all• No discrimination• Treat others as you would

like to be treated

Cooperation

• Listen• Be on time to meetings• Try to get along• Respectful – manners• Do your part• Develop responsibility• Learn sportsmanship• Don’t be a sore looser• Be prepared• Teamwork• Offer opinions• Ask for other’s opinions• Don’t criticize

• Discuss• Reach consensus• Work collaboratively• Never say “it’s not my

job”• Plan to get along• Polite, nice• No negative comments• Compromise• Think before you speak• Think before you act• Share workload• Fair to all team members

Honesty

• No lying• No stealing• No cheating• Do what is right• Read the rules• Follow the rules• Return things to the rightful owner• Return items found• Acceptable behaviors

• Think before you speak• Think before you act• Be accountable• Admit mistakes• Correct mistakes• Say “I’m Sorry”• Rewards for positive behaviors• Do the appropriate thing

Ability to Accept Criticism

• Positive corrections• Accept that we are not

perfect• Everyone makes mistakes• Correct mistakes• Control your temper• Understand that what you

did was wrong• Positive attitude• Don’t let what other

people say bother you• No negative comments

• High self-esteem• Let constructive criticism

help you• Don’t be afraid of making

a mistake• Take risks• Don’t give up• Try, Try, Try!!• Self-control• Self-discipline• Self-respect• Don’t make the same

mistake twice

Army Values stressed during basic training and through out the military career.

A Health Department Manager stated, “I would rather hire someone who needs training. I can train anyone if they are

honest, with integrity and have good work ethics.”

Behaviors

• You need good and excellent behavior characteristics to get along with people on your job in the future.

• You need good and excellent behavior characteristics to get and keep your job in the future.

• If you can change or improve only one item, that would be a good start.

• No one can change all negative behaviors in one day.

Discussion Forum

• Now that you have a better understanding of what work ethics and good behaviors include, answer the following questions.

• Do you think that employers should consider a person’s behavior and work ethics when employing them? Why? Why not?

• Should an employee be fired for their work ethics? Why? Why not?

• How has this unit changed you and your work ethics?• Do you have a better understanding of behaviors and

work ethics now?

Documents

Work Ethics What is it and do I have it?. What is work ethics? Work Ethics is a combination of your values, personality, attitude and pride in your work