Why is the solution never hard work?

The US has one of the highest productivity rates and the least amount of vacation in the western world. What are you talking about. Perhaps it is the work environment that you provide. Do you pay minimum wage? Do you berate your employees or treat them like human beings? Do you pay benefits or are you like WalMart and pay more in advertising that you offer benefits that what you pay in benefits themselves?

It all adds up to people. If you treat someone right, then they will work hard for you. If you treat them like a dog, then that is what you get.

As an employee I earn minimum wage which i can only get 36 hours from it each week, I can't get a second job as my hour frequently change and the work is physically and emotionally draining, another reason I cant move onto a different job entirely is no-one want to employ me, as it looks on my cv i have only had three jobs including the one I'm currently in although all my bosses, managers and the like there of say I a valuable employee this doesn't seem to be enough to get me a second job, I finished college and I live with my parents I still going from paycheck to paycheck and I don't even have a family to support so how can you say people don't make an effort?

I find it hard to meet a partner, due to the smaller no. of gay people that there are around, compared to if I was looking for a female. I'm not really into the gay bar and club scene so have less options, though I do other stuff away from these. Like someone else said, it can be tough coming from a smaller place. When I'm not single, this isn't an issue, of course.

I'm working and going to school. I have been working since I was 11 years old. For a time, I could not take a 2nd or 3rd job because my full-time job required a lot of overtime and it was never predictable.

I guess you don't know that people are working harder, longer for less. A lot of people are working 2 or 3 or even 4 jobs. When do they get to see their families or friends? When do they get to work out or read? When do they get to work on hobbies? I have worked with people with excellent work ethics and I've worked with people like you are talking about. But there is more than meets the eye. Quite often, people are very intelligent and it's the system that's the problem. People can and are willing to change. Usually, the people aren't the problem. It's the system.

That's fine it worked for you but it seems that it was a temporary thing. It's becoming a permanent thing for many folks. It is a serious problem. I know that family values are going out the window.

There are so many problems. I think one full-time job with occasional overtime should be the norm. It is the most healthy for society in the long run. There is no excuse. We can do it. The technology is there.

It is a problem that some people make more money by sitting home than actually working. But again, it's the system that's the problem and not the people!

Maybe you should look at your management style and maybe how you hire people. Are you maybe overlooking the people that work out the best? I can tell you that my brother has been overlooked for jobs because of his speech and hearing problems. But employers that have taken the chance with him have not been disappointed. He is a worker and he is very smart. He is reliable and dependable. His coworkers love him because he's not out to get anyone and he's really smart. He knows what he's doing and he's not afraid to share his knowledge. He has a heart of gold. But it took him at least 6 years to find a decent place to work. The world is not a fair place. Cruelty abounds.

I'm 34 and I dare you to question my work ethic. I have an excellent attendance record. I'm almost always on time. The most I've been late is by 5 minutes. I'm usually 15-20 minutes early. I don't take a full lunch break. I work very hard. I wish I had more work to do so I wouldn't be wasting time on here. But management is absent most often and has a lax attitude. He got promoted. ???? I work in a dysfunctional environment. It is something to behold. YA is keeping me here because if I didn't have it then I would be gone. This is torture. For God's sake, give me some real work to do.

The work I do is excellent. They tell me that. They always at least act like they are impressed or seem surprised at what I can do. (I'm surprised that they are surprised but oh they are almost never here so.. there you go) If the commute wasn't great and the money was ok (best I can find around here), I would be back at my old place because they rewarded hard work. I got bonuses and rave reviews. I loved it but it's a long commute. (over an hour each way, for only slightly more money.) I look around and see how things could be much better. Please make me a manager and I will shine.

Yes, you are right about the GDP. Please don't take anything here personally. No one knows you. This is a hot button issue. A lot of people are stressed, frustrated, depressed, and maybe don't have an outlet to vent.

There is no excuse to not work but I understand that some people stay home because they make more money on welfare then they do if they work. They have children and maybe are single parents. They have trouble keeping a job.

There are some dysfunctional people out there. It's why I am 100% for education all the way up to college. Things change so quickly nowadays that it's almost impossible for everyone to keep up. We need to get the young people early before they can be jaded like their parents maybe are.

The American work ethic has been destroyed by a new concept called the "entitlement society." People believe that being an American automatically entitles you to a college education, free medical care, free retirement, a job where you have oodles of money to throw at iPhones, HD TVs, a new car every three years, the list goes on and on. The two biggest unions in the U.S. (the UAW and the Teamsters) have also done their darnedest to ruin the American work ethic by demanding a king's ransom for jobs that take no special education or experience to do.

People complain about immigrant workers (many of them illegals) in this country taking American jobs. They're simply taking the jobs that Americans turn their noses up at because that kind of menial labor is somehow "beneath" them. Then you have the big complaint about NAFTA taking jobs out of this country. Well, what do you expect when a business has a choice of paying someone an exhorbitant sum of money for minimum production or paying someone in another country less money but they do a better job and are thankful to be among the ranks of the employed?

It's in the wind that a major depression may be coming to the U.S. In a way, that's exactly what this country needs. Maybe then people will learn to appreciate what they have and live within their means instead of constantly expecting more.

I agree with you totally, right now I am working two jobs. I would never ask or expect the government or anyone else to help me meet my responsibilities. We have become a nation of people who are "entitled".

As a manager for many years I can tell that the work ethic of this country is pathetic. Treatment by your employer is just simply another excuse not to do your job. You are not entitled to take off every time you have the sniffles, to come in late every week, or to get personal phone calls.

I think it is very sad what has happened to our country.

I have to agree with you there. I wasn't born into a rich family. I went to school and then worked for everything I have now. There were times when I lived pay check to pay check. I ran up credit cards to keep myself afloat.

Then I finally secured an ok job. I didn't have to live from check to check. No more hoping the check I wrote would just wait until payday to go through. Eventually I finished my education and was able to get a great job. Now everything I own is paid for.

Its all because of hard work and the desire to better myself. Nobody helped me, I did it myself.

I hear you sister!

I get so tired of hearing my employees whine about the minimum wage I pay them. I remind them I could always replace them with illegal aliens & pay the illegals less under the table!

Thank God they stick around (mostly) & are making me RICH!!!