Only fools? Reconsidering the relationship between commitment to the work ethic and educational attainment

This article argues that work ethic research has suffered from a tendency to conflate preference and morality, and that this has been particularly detrimental to our understanding of the relationship between commitment to the work ethic and educational attainment. The work ethic is almost always measured quantitatively, yet in-depth research offers a fuller understanding of individuals’ moral beliefs and motivations, and it can provide possible explanations for the very different results established by the various quantitative measures. Findings from 50 in-depth interviews offered support to those who claim that work morality is largely a ‘wealth ethic’ – about not being dependent upon state benefits. Education strongly influenced moral beliefs. Crucially, while the more educated were the least likely to moralise in favour of work or the ‘wealth ethic’ and most disliked lower status employment, they could expect to score highly on measures of the work ethic that emphasise preference rather than morality because their education usually secured them enjoyable ‘career’ jobs. Furthermore, the fact that preferences play such an important part in work ethic measurement might help explain the discrepancy between theoretical claims of a declining work ethic and empirical studies which demonstrate that it is thriving.