1 the belief that work is valuable as an activity and is morally good --
2 the way that someone feels about the importance of work, usually the belief that it is important to work hard: --
Hettlage (1993) for instance argues that the widespread (protestant) work ethic and a scepticism towards a strong state have restrained the evolution of a highly developed welfare state.
The way of working has no particular significance because there is no specific work ethic.
They have also tried to refashion welfare benefits and services to make them more in tune with market principles and the work ethic.
For them mobility was part of the business and work ethic, one which was contrasted with attachment to particular areas or localities.
For instance, people may draw upon broader beliefs about the work ethic and equal opportunity to guide their positions on government provision of social welfare.
A form of dependency which, because it meets wider economic imperatives, and, simultaneously, reinforces the (paid) work ethic is actively supported by the state.
As a result, a 'society of consumers' ruled by the aesthetics of consumption has replaced a 'society of producers' guided by the work ethic.
The result is that farmers with a work ethic consider an amount of work that would be deemed intolerable elsewhere to be 'normal'.
