Etyka pracy : przekonania wartościujące pracę a zaangażowanie pracowników

Abstract

The book contains an overview of conceptions and results of research on work ethic – a construct which was first defined in 1905 by a German sociologist Max Weber. Work ethic is a syndrome of attitudes and convictions that regard work. In the present publication the sociological aspect of this concept has been discussed and terms such as: protestant ethic, spirit of capitalism, modern capitalism and inner-world asceticism coined by Weber have been explained. Then, various cultural versions of work ethic have been presented: Japanese, Confucian and Islamic, and an attempt to answer the question whether work ethic in Poland exists has been undertaken. The main aim of the book is to discuss the psychological aspect of work ethic. The starting point for the author to develop such an approach was an overview of definitions provided and adopted in psychological studies, and of the constituents of the term work ethic described in sociology and psychology. The author’s model of the syndrome of attitudes and convictions that work ethic represents, has also been depicted. Work evaluation and perceiving work as a moral obligation constitute important elements of this syndrome. The author has distinguished new aspects of work ethic: the energetic aspect (valuation of a bigger effort) and time aspect (extending working time), which are important from the perspective of a contemporary working person. Correlatives of work ethic have also been illustrated with consecutive descriptions of gratification postponement, achievement motivation, authoritarianism, the inner feeling of control location, individualism and collectivism, as well as personal features such as conscientiousness and amicability. In the monograph, the results of research conducted by means of a Polish version of the American Multidimentional Work Ethic Profile questionnaire have been presented. According to that research, in Polish subjects’ attitudes towards work the so called energetic dimensions dominate. Valuation of activeness and affirmation of effort increase, as well as the conviction that time should be saved have turned out to be the central elements of the described syndrome. The further research presented in the book regarded connections between work ethic and work involvement including workers’ commitment to a particular organization. Its results have clearly shown that the extent of work involvement is connected with perceiving work as a central value, affirmation of hard work and treating it as a moral obligation, along with the conviction about the need for saving time. Some of the results are especially important, since they are based on the evaluation of work involvement made not only by the subjects themselves but also by their supervisors. Presentation of methods used for conducting research in work ethic and a discussion concerning their usefulness in the examination of various organizations is an asset to this book. The publication is addressed to work and organization psychologists, sociologists, career advisers and management specialists. It may also be an interesting piece of reading for students.