An empirical study of contemporary beliefs about work in American society.

Abstract

The underlying concepts or beliefs people hold about work were studied by first developing a conceptual framework consisting of five different belief systems. The framework was operationalized by developing a questionnaire that used individual belief statements as items in a S-point, Likert-type format. The subjects surveyed were 340 blue-collar and white-collar workers from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area and 72 union leaders and 366 top managers from the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, area. Subsequent multivariate analysis revealed that differences in beliefs exist in relation to job or position, age, sex, race, and education. Top management is not in favor of participative management structures ; young people are more work ethic oriented than other age groups. Females and blacks show strong feelings of being exploited. Education is related to a weakened commitment to traditional beliefs and to the organization.