Posted on Jun 2, 2015
Work Ethic. Unique to the Military or Just not as Common?
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After retiring from an Air Force career, I now work as an Emergency Medical Technician for a local EMS service. Part of my job is to clean and restock the ambulance after each medical response and at the end of each shift.
I was accomplishing said requirements a few days ago when the duty supervisor approached me. His comment was something to the effect of, "I can tell you are former military. You're squared away. You always take care of your business and I never have to check to make sure you've taken care of the ambulance. Wish a few others had your work ethic."
I don't see that I'm doing anything "extra" or "above and beyond". Does the military (in general) instill a deeper work ethic? Is it more that today's younger generations as a whole just aren't as motivated to take care of issues without being constantly monitored?
I was accomplishing said requirements a few days ago when the duty supervisor approached me. His comment was something to the effect of, "I can tell you are former military. You're squared away. You always take care of your business and I never have to check to make sure you've taken care of the ambulance. Wish a few others had your work ethic."
I don't see that I'm doing anything "extra" or "above and beyond". Does the military (in general) instill a deeper work ethic? Is it more that today's younger generations as a whole just aren't as motivated to take care of issues without being constantly monitored?
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Job Performance
Job Performance
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 7
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MSG Holt, I am the Director of EMS in a good sized county in North Carolina. I can tell, very easily, who among my staff has served and who did not. Our people work relatively unsupervised - they are spread around 300 miles in teams of two. The veterans in the group mostly former infantry soldiers (Army/Marines) or medics/corpsmen, show up and do the work without having to be told. Someplace along the line, they learned (a) responsibility for themselves and their equipment, and (b) that there are consequences for NOT doing the job.
I wish I could find and hire two dozen more!
I wish I could find and hire two dozen more!
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MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P
PO2 Skip Kirkwood , I think that's what he was driving at as well. We have some great folks in our service. A few have to be "reminded" the truck still needs cleaning/restock instead of just watching TV or playing Xbox all day. Oddly, I don't think any of them have served.
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I think it is broader than just the military. My step dad had only an elementary school education.But, he had a great work ethic.
When times were really tough he left home and got a job digging ditch. On the first day he was approached by coworkers who told him to slow down. On the third day he lost his job because he just worked too hard.
That was years ago (about 60).
In another case we hired youth for summer employment. When they were at the worksite the regulars told them to stand watch for management while the regulars went to a back room and goofed off.
Neither situation wold be remotely okay with me. And I worked just as hard in and out of the military.
When times were really tough he left home and got a job digging ditch. On the first day he was approached by coworkers who told him to slow down. On the third day he lost his job because he just worked too hard.
That was years ago (about 60).
In another case we hired youth for summer employment. When they were at the worksite the regulars told them to stand watch for management while the regulars went to a back room and goofed off.
Neither situation wold be remotely okay with me. And I worked just as hard in and out of the military.
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MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P
I never understood that one either. How do you get fired for working TOO hard? Doesn't that reinforce the mentality of being lazy on the job site?
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Work ethic is learned when you are young (first jobs). The military forces a solid work ethic because the standard is set very high.
That said, there are some philosophical differences as well. Speaking only generally, we are "Mission Oriented" whereas a civilian counterpart is "Task Oriented." Looking at the long range effects changes things dramatically, and little things like attention to detail are huge. We don't have to strive for a "pass" per task.
Think about it like taking a course. We go in knowing we need to pass the entire class, so we do as well as we can on every single assignment, that way if we do struggle, the class will still be a success. Many of our civilian counterparts however look at everything as an individual assignment, they only have to pass each one. It changes the attitude dramatically, and lowers the product over time.
That said, there are some philosophical differences as well. Speaking only generally, we are "Mission Oriented" whereas a civilian counterpart is "Task Oriented." Looking at the long range effects changes things dramatically, and little things like attention to detail are huge. We don't have to strive for a "pass" per task.
Think about it like taking a course. We go in knowing we need to pass the entire class, so we do as well as we can on every single assignment, that way if we do struggle, the class will still be a success. Many of our civilian counterparts however look at everything as an individual assignment, they only have to pass each one. It changes the attitude dramatically, and lowers the product over time.
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MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P
That's also an interesting perspective. I didn't see it as "Task Oriented" vs "Mission Oriented". I think you have a very valid point.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P It's part of "Ownership." We tend to take on an ownership mentality, where we are responsible for things.
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