HCM 433 MANGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR.pdf

“Labour is good in its self. A man or woman at work...becomes a better person by virtue of
the act of working”
In other countries however, it is seen almost as a punishment.
3. The significance of work will also depend on sociological factors because attitudes toward
work and a job are developed from the total culture; from the person’s experiences, educational
background, age are from attitudes the individual sees in friends and family. Certain individuals
have a high need for job security; for example, if an individual is married with a mortgage and
children to support, work will hold more significance than for an individual who is single and
living at home with their parents, schools, further education and friends all from our attitude to
work.
4. People also work for spiritual or religions reason. For example the protestant ethics
maintain that work pleases God. The catholic says that to work is to pray and in several places in
the Bible and Quran, the need to work is emphasized e.g. II Thessalonians 3 vs 10 of the Bible.
5. Yet again, the social Darwinsm tried to explain that work has survival value. As it is often
expressed, in any given situation the fittest survives. An individual survival is then seen in relation
to the kind of job he does while the individual is counted fit when he is able to work. Hence work
is seen as a requirement necessary for survival.
6. The psychologist believed that work is a primary reainforcer and so attached to work are
food, shelter, social esteem and approval, meaning that, work has both moral value and inherent
goodness. In other words, it is supposed to be something that is inherent to the individual because
work is inherently good.
In conclusion, it may be said that work is both an instrumental activity as well as an end in its self.
While today’s employees have varying work attitudes that may differ by age, sex, race education,
and experience, the attitude that work is a means to an end is probably more widespread among
blue-collar workers. The attitude that work is an end of itself is found among many professional,
technical, managerial and other white-collar workers. Ona (1984) of the central bank raining
school has argued that, the very fact that one had a job satisfied his needs because work gives a
feeling of being tied into the larger society, of having to do and of having a purpose in life (i.e. it
gives you a sense of being a member of society). The question; why people why people work then
149