How to Manage Problem Employees

The Condition of America’s Work Ethic (Oh, Dear)

Over the past few decades, life has gotten much easier for most Americans. The increasing availability of technology - such as remote controls, computers, the Internet and WiFi - has made many Americans lazy. Getting up and going to work is an inconvenience.

As a people and a society, Americans lack self-discipline. Parents spoil their children who grow up with no desire or reason to accept responsibility. Society isn’t helping young people build a strong work ethic. Cultural trends in the 1990s created a generation that dresses down instead of dressing up, listens to whining lyrics and watches TV shows that mock authority instead of teaching respect. Talk shows focusing on horrible events and rare maladies, plus constant prescription drug ads have created a nation of complainers, hypochondriacs, pill poppers and people who think the world owes them something. The increasingly litigious society encourages a victim mentality. The tendency to blame others makes businesses a prime target for lawsuits. It encourages people who abuse the system - trying to live on disability, unemployment compensation, welfare and workers...