Combination of many factors I would say. How you were raised and how your friends influenced your behavior during your teenage years will ultimately end up shaping your goals and ethics, IMO.

Every parent wants to make it better for their kids, but better isn't always easier...

I'm inclined to say, at its root, it's a mix of genetic and psychological predispositions.

Temprement and circumstance. Temprement meets circumstance to determine the character of an individual. Some will always work hard driven by their nature or perhaps inner demons. But for others, that side of themselves won't get activated unless they are born into privation. Others still are born indolant whatever the environment.

I would argue that the concept of “work ethic” is a rather recent phenomenon. As technology evolved to make our lives easier, humans naturally were allowed more and more leisure time.

Earlier generations did not recognize this idea of “work ethic” due to the fact that if they did not tend to their crops and raise a family to help with the labour, they wouldn’t be able to feed their family, trade with other people, etc.

Our current generation is recognizing work ethic as a kind of measuring stick, comparing those who understand the value of work vs those who don’t.

So I don’t really have a direct answer to your question, just food for thought.

Boomer here. Just shy of 70 years. I’m not saying our way was better, but as a child it never occurred that you live with your parents. The entire growing up experience always had a backdrop of what are you going to do to make money after high school or university. In my case my grandfather and father were US Army, WW1 and WW2 respectively. From age 7 on I was committed to following that path and spent my youth preparing for it with a final 4 year push as an ROTC Cadet while drinking my way through DePaul University. My son just completed a hitch in the Marines, so the tradition remains unbroken. My point is there was no work ethic mentioned in Boomerville. It was assumed the purpose of becoming an adult was to enter into some profession or trade you would master, become stable, get married, get a house, multiply, get old, then drop dead as a courtesy to the younger generation that needed to be cloned in our image. Obviously the Boomer DNA had a suppressed longing to not be trapped in the old day to day grind. Frankly I am jealous of this’d who outright refuse to work and I am very impressed by those who desire a career, but make serious demands on employers starting at the entry level job. Remote work, flextime, mental health days, unlimited sick days, and they freely share their salaries with their ever group. So the Boomers appear to be the last with a work ethic that was just always there. Being an out of work bum was shameful and the homeless problem was insignificant, hidden by an imposed institutional life of shame as society either looked down at the wretched men living on charity, or the women folk simply looked away. The embarrassment of being on charity provided all the incentive needed for afflicted men to make fundamental changes even if it meant ta

This is an interesting question 🤔

I’m 41, worked with a lot of boomers in industry. In legacy companies there is a correlation of hours worked = work ethic, but I think this is remnants of the Fredrick Winslow Taylor era of industrialization measuring hours to output.

Modern manufacturing within then “lean” context, especially as it pertains to “kaizen” combines efforts of improvement by discovering creativity through collective practices. This is a practice born out of the east. I haven’t worked in tech, but from what I can tell, much of the same model is applied in that area, so with that being said, I suspect that philosophical and cultural differences play a stronger role, but also legacy status and demographics factor into it in a smaller way.

I asked ChatGPT (+ web browsing):

"What does contemporary research say about the difference in worth work ethic among recent American generations (e.g. Gen X, Millennials) and the prioritization of results over feelings?"

Response:

"Recent research suggests that there are differences in work ethics among different American generations, such as Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers[1]. One study conducted on the subject found that several dimensions of the work ethic construct, as measured by the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP), were not equivalent across these cohorts. This implies that certain aspects of work ethic may not operate in the same way for different generations. When dimensions were equivalent, several significant mean differences were detected across cohorts, indicating that respondents do differ in important work-related attitudes and behaviors. These differences could be due to respondents interpreting content in different ways based on their generational backgrounds[1].

As for the prioritization of results over protecting feelings, recent research indicates that life priorities and values differ among generations. Younger Americans, such as Millennials and Gen Z, tend to desire a more well-rounded lifestyle, spreading priorities across many areas of life, while older generations like Gen X and Boomers typically approach life more traditionally, strongly valuing health and finances[2]. This generational difference can be partly explained by the socio-historical context in which each generation grew up. For example, Gen X and Boomers grew up during a time where hard work was highly valued and viewed as a direct path to success, while Millennials and Gen Zers came of age in a rapidly changing world with turbulent political and economic circumstances, leading them to question the traditional notion of success[2].

However, there seems to be a recent shift in priorities among all generations, with an increasing emphasis on wellness and happiness. For instance, even Gen X and Boomers, who have historically prioritized work over happiness, are now indicating that being happy and healthy is more important than it was a year prior, with the data being on par with Gen Z and Millennials. This points to a convergence of values across generations[3].

As these studies suggest, the way generations prioritize results over protecting feelings can vary significantly, and it may not be accurate to generalize across entire generations. These generational differences could also be influenced by various factors such as changing socio-economic conditions, cultural shifts, and personal experiences.

---

**Footnotes:**

[1] Generational Differences in Work Ethic: An Examination of Measurement Equivalence Across Three Cohorts on JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org)

[2] America Now: Life Priorities Across Generations | Collage Group (https://www.collagegroup.com)

[3] America Now: Life Priorities Across Generations | Collage Group (https://www.collagegroup.com)"