Section Two
There are a several arguments that can be used to
support the contention that the work ethic in the United States
is strong and that it has remained relatively stable. One
argument is that employees have worked the same number of
hours per week for over 45 years and that when commuting is
included, they are spending more time in work-related
activities. Thus, workers are involved in more hours of work-
related activity and are spending less time in leisure. Another
argument is that the overwhelming majority of U.S. workers
enjoy their jobs, and as a result, work appeals to them. A final
argument is that U.S. workers are second only to the Japanese
in the pro-portion who keep working after they reach 65 years
of age. The meager retirement benefits for Japanese workers
may explain their tendency to remain employed.^26
Lipset’s warning and arguments notwithstanding, there
have been some shifts in work values of importance to strategic
management. Among the most important of these are values
and attitudes of employees toward their employers. As
discussed in the previous section, unbundled organizations
typically display low loyalty to the employees of their peripheral
units. This lack of loyalty seems to be reflected in the attitudes
of the younger cohorts of today’s employees as well.
Terence Pare has observed the following about young college
graduates: “They show no loyalty toward their corporate
employers and expect none in return. It may be a perfect