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Chris Casey The Roseburg News-Review March 9, 2003
The value of a strong work ethic goes without debate, but ways to instill that quality in young people generated a range of opinions at a forum last week.The Douglas County Regional Workforce Investment Board hosted “Building a Work Ethic in Our Youth” Tuesday. About 50 people from private and public businesses attended the discussion at the Holiday Inn Express in Roseburg.
The topic of work ethic is “a huge issue. It’s probably the one that gets people most excited,” said Dick Dolgonas, staff member on the local Workforce Investment Board.
The panel included Sue Shaffer, chairwoman of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Hank Snow, vice president of human resources at Roseburg Forest Products; Steffany Long, a student at Roseburg High School; and Sharon Ruud, a teacher at North Douglas High School.
Young voice
Roseburg High School student Steffany Long, right, speaks to a forum on `Building a Work Ethic in Our Youth’ in Roseburg Tuesday morning while fellow panel members Jennifer Reasoner of Cardinal Services, left, and Sue Shaffer, chairwoman of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, listen.
STEPHEN BRASHEAR / The News-Review
Several panel members lamented what they view as an eroding work ethic in today’s youth.
“My generation did a better job. Our parents did a better job with us than we did with our children, and perhaps it is indulgence,” Shaffer said.
People who grew up during the Great Depression knew the value of work, she noted. “We are reaping the harvest now of that more É passive (parenting) example.”
The basics of showing up on time, working hard while on the job and being honest all start at home, Shaffer said. “When we talk about work ethic we have to teach our children and the people who work for us by example.”
Consequences to slack, inappropriate behavior should be driven home by parents, some panelists said.
A 2002 employer survey conducted by the Oregon Employment Department found that 90 percent of Douglas County employers said their workers need work ethic, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, math skills and reading and writing skills. In the county, 56 percent of respondents said a shortage of skilled workers made it difficult to find qualified applicants.
Building good work habits is a major emphasis at Telecommunications Management Services, said Chuck Schnautz, chief financial officer for the Roseburg call center.
“We have about 200 employees, but we have a lot of young employees and the thing that’s hardest to deal with is training them to have a work ethic,” Schnautz said.
Snow said absenteeism and turnover are problems at Roseburg Forest Products, the county’s largest employer with about 3,500 employees. The company had a turnover rate of 14.2 percent last year, or 520 workers. The company expects an absenteeism rate of 1.2 percent, equating to about three unexcused absences — outside of days allowed by law, such as sick days, family leave and jury duty — per worker annually.
RFP pays an average of about $50,000 per employee in wages and benefits each year, he said, an amount elevated due to absenteeism costs.
Some people view missing work, or school for that matter, as no big deal, Snow said.
“But it certainly is a big deal if you’re trying to make a business successful and trying to keep people employed.”
Snow said some people learn how to exploit the system by being absent as much as possible within the framework of the law.
“There are so many absences that are protected by law that it’s very difficult to find a string that’s long enough to terminate an employee,” he said.
Schools need to do more to develop good attendance and punctuality habits in students, Snow added. There’s not one school to blame, he said.
“It’s across society. It starts at home, but school is a big partner.”
One audience member said schools should concentrate on producing “lifelong learners, not clock punchers.”
Most agreed that instilling work ethic in youth is a shared community effort, beginning with parents who demonstrate its importance through their actions, not simply words.
Anna Willman, director of Umpqua Community Action Network’s transitions programs, said she had doubts about her teenage son’s work ethic because of his unwillingness to do chores around the house. But when he took his first job he proved to be one of the company’s star workers.
“He wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying,” Willman said, “but he was paying attention to what I do.”
She said what worked for our grandparents in terms of motivating kids doesn’t necessarily work today.
“It’s a different world,” Willman said, “and if we keep trying to fix it to be the old way, we’re not going to be successful.”
Long, a senior at RHS, said she learned most of her work ethic by watching her parents and older sister.
She’s noticed that teenagers tend to stubbornly avoid assistance — sometimes at the expense of their on-the-job effectiveness. “We’re not asking for help É we like doing it ourselves.”
She suggested that employers should continually ask teen workers how they’re doing, and they should offer rewards for quality work habits.
As for school, Long said RHS’s new, stricter dress code has been a positive move in raising expectations. “A change in attitude is what a lot of students need,” she said.
While many people enter the work force in their midteens, Shaffer said a person’s work ethic should be instilled well before that age.
“By 16 they should be able to understand the value of work and its rewards,” Shaffer said. “By following the rules and doing what’s right you can be a success in spite of what your attitude was to begin with.”
Barbara Gershon, personnel director for the city of Roseburg, said employers shouldn’t discount the reasons labor laws were enacted in the first place. “We’ve made some decisions along the way as to what kind of people we want to be” in terms of legislating safe work environments for youth and other workers, she said.
“You want honesty and commitment and fairness from your employees, and they want it from their employers,” Gershon said.
Ruud, the high school teacher in Drain, said some students live by the philosophy that they’ll do whatever they want, including cheating in class, as long as they can get away with it.
She battles the tide of apathy by providing incentives for a good work ethic.
“Our collective challenge is to reach today’s youth in a positive way,” Ruud said.
