A Study on Work Ethic

Theoreticians of development believe that among the 3 types of capital; physical, technological and human capital; the main important one is human capital and its appropriate utilization. Economical development will not occur unless environmental factors of work and work organization develop culturally. Thus work ethic in the work culture of society will become important and warrant development and improvement. Presence of women in the work market is one of the effective variables on work culture and work ethic. This research has a gendered view of work ethic in Iranian society. The question raised in this article tackles the following issues: What similarities and differences are observed in men’s and women’s work ethic? If they are different, which factors interfere? This research is conducted through a survey using a questionnaire. The sample population consists of 356 faculty staff of Tehran University including 148 females and 208 males. The sampling method used is stratified sampling. The results of research show that the variable of gender does not influence work ethic directly but it is influential through other variables. The most effective variables are mediating variables such as inner organizational and cultural variables. The causal model is distinctive both in men and women. While the work ethic model is very complicated for men, it is very simple for women. The reason for this refers to the fact that women want to maintain their jobs and keep it as long as they can. Therefore, in order to reach a desirable and effective work for all individuals based on universal standards, it is important to consider gender differences.