Work Ethic in Formerly Socialist Economies

Abstract

Do younger workers in transition economies have a different work ethic from those who were trained and employed in the former socialist economy? Is the link between work ethic and performance among workers in transition economies the same for both older and younger workers? We address these questions using data collected from employee surveys conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Serbia. Like the majority of empirical studies, we employ a ‘Protestant work ethic’ composite measure. Evaluating adherence to PWE among survey participants by country and generation, we find that younger workers tend to adhere more strongly, and older workers less strongly. We also find PWE adherence to be stronger among men than women, a result statistically significant for participating Armenian, Kazakh, and Russian workers. The link between work ethic and earnings tends to be positive, but relatively small in magnitude, and only statistically significant among Azeri and Russian workers. Commonalities across these six culturally and economically diverse countries provide a foundation for developing a more global perspective of work ethic and worker performance.