Work ethics

My first summer job must have been in 1976 or 1977. I worked for 4 or 5 weeks in a steel factory in my little home town of that time, 's-Gravenzande. I still vividly remember my first day at work. Together with another guy our task was to lift heavy steel bars into a machine, push a big red button, and the machine would punch holes in the steel bar. The other guy was a full-time employee of that company, perhaps 22 years old, and a real man whose main interests were football, women and beer. Which of these three was top of mind mainly depended on the time of the day.

10 minutes into my new job the other guy stopped me. "You are working way too hard. Think about this: you will be out of here in 4 weeks, I will still be here in 40 years. So I will decide how hard we work. Capisce?"

I think my work ethics are pretty strong. When some company hires me for 40 hours a week, I will give them 40 hours of hard work as long as they pay my salary and treat me decently. An employee is a whore to the company: they pay you and you do as they like.

Many people have a very different attitude to work. They will screw the company if they can.

I currently work for a department of a large company that is winding down. There are 8 of us left, and even though the department will be closing there is still some work to do. 5 out of the 8 remaining employees refuse to do any work. They are like whores that take the money but refuse to provide the services.

Today one of the project assistants came to my office. She was completely pissed-off that she, and I and one other guy are still working more or less normally, and the others are on a paid unofficial vacation. We talked for a long time and concluded that we have strong work ethics. We are not better than the others, just different. We wouldn't feel good if we behaved like they do. We are too righteous for our own good.