Work ethic in formerly socialist economies

Susan Linz and Yu-Wei Chu

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2013, vol. 39, issue C, 185-203

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 there a positive link between work ethic and earnings among workers in transition economies? We address these questions using data collected from employee surveys conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Serbia. Employing a composite measure, we find that younger workers tend to adhere more strongly, and older workers less strongly. This result is obtained in the majority of cases for the individual work ethic components, as well. We also find work ethic adherence is stronger among men than women, among supervisors, and among participants who exhibit an internal locus of control. The link between work ethic and earnings is positive: participants who scored highest on the work ethic measure earn 15% more than those who scored lowest. Commonalities across these six culturally and economically diverse countries provide a foundation for developing a more global perspective of work ethic and worker performance.

Keywords: Work ethic; Earnings; Locus of control; Transition economies; Generation; Gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J2 P2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:39:y:2013:i:c:p:185-203

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2013.07.010

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